100-Year-Old Santa Clara Track Star Keeps Breaking Records
SANTA CLARA (KPIX 5) – Most days, Don Pellman is kept busy caring for his wife Marjoree at their apartment in Santa Clara.
Pellman, who turned 100 years old last month, broke several world records for people his age at a track meet on Sunday.
He's been competing in senior track meets since he was 70. Ten years ago, Pellman showed KPIX 5's Mike Sugerman how a 90-year-old man can shot put.
Pellman entered 890 events and has gold medals in all but five of them. Of course, as he gets older the field tends to narrow a bit.
"Hundred year old people don't polevault and don't high jump and don't run," he told KPIX 5.
But last weekend, Pellman did all those things and ended up setting world records in five out of his six events. Pellman said he missed on the pole vault because his assisted living home doesn't have a pit out back to practice on.
Pellman raced the hundred meters against other guys 30 years younger than he is. While he crossed the finish line after the others, Pellman actually shattered the world record for his age group by more than three seconds.
"There aren't too many people that can even walk a hundred meters to say nothing about running them."
Pellman has won so many gold medals that they've begun to lose their luster. But make no mistake, he loves winning.
"I like it when somebody says I've been competing with you for the last 20 years and I'm getting sick of looking at your back," he said.
