Fleet Foot’s golden century - Hyacinth Walters, Jamaica’s oldest living Olympian, celebrates her 100th birthday today

She is Jamaica’s oldest living Olympian and, despite previous online articles and other reports that for years recognised her birthday as July 15, she actually celebrates her 100th birthday today.
Meet Hyacinth Walters, one of only two women named to Jamaica’s eight-member team for the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland. She was selected to compete in the 100m and 200m.
Walters was the only female athlete selected to compete in the track events. The other woman, Kathleen Russell, was selected for the long jump.
During her track career representing Jamaica, Walters won three gold medals and two silver medals.
Apart from the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, where she did not win a medal, she represented Jamaica at the 1946 Central American and Caribbean Games in Colombia, the 1950 Central American and Caribbean Games in Guatemala and the 1954 Central American and Caribbean Games in Mexico City, Mexico.
Walters was also Jamaica’s 100m record-holder, with a personal best of 11.9 seconds.
However, it all began in Jamaica, where she was born in Kingston, one of two girls for her parents. While it is not known at which primary school she began her academic journey, she later attended Kingston Technical High School, where she represented the institution in track and field.
It was during a track meet at Sabina Park that Walters was discovered by a top Jamaican coach. She went on to compete in several meets, according to her daughter, Marjorie Miller.
As a result of her performances on the track for the Jamaican national team, Walters received a scholarship to attend university in Arkansas, where she represented the school at various track meets. She later obtained a bachelor’s degree in education.
She subsequently transferred to Columbia University, where she earned a master’s degree in education, specialising in nutrition.
After leaving Columbia, Walters became a dietitian at NY-Cornell Hospital in New York City, where she worked until retiring at age 65.
Miller told The Gleaner that she moved her mother to Miami, Florida, after the former athlete turned 90 because she did not want her living alone.
“She was reluctant to make the move because she is very independent, but she was eventually persuaded to relocate,” Miller said.
Miller said her mother attributes her longevity to good eating habits, noting that as an athlete she learned how to train her body.
According to Miller, her mother’s mantra is: “Keep moving.”
She said Walters had been devoted to her church and has mentored young people.
“She believed in excellence. A very humble woman, she continues to be inspired by seeing the Jamaican team compete on the world stage. She sees herself in Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce,” her daughter said.
In providing an update on her mother’s health, Miller said Walters suffered a mild stroke just before her 97th birthday and that her memory is not as sharp as it once was.
“She does recall things in the past and the fact that she was an elite athlete,” Miller said.
According to Miller, her mother continues to show warmth despite her memory challenges.
Walters’ daughter recalled her mother telling her that while the Jamaican team was in Helsinki for the Olympics, they were invited to the country’s leader.
Miller said her mother told her she had been practising her curtsy and that, when she went up to meet the head of state, he whispered to her that he had seen her practising and that she had done a very good job.
Walters has travelled the world and, by her 85th birthday, had visited some 40 countries.
“I don’t know of a country which she has not visited,” Miller said.
Nicknamed ‘Fleet Foot’, Walters is still going at 100.
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