Traveling all the way from Mapusa, 80 year old Maria Imelda De Souza left everyone at the Margao heritage walk pleasantly surprised to have her as a fellow participant.
But for Maria, attending heritage walks and such kind of activities is no big deal. She considers it a big part of her life and she sees age as no barrier or distinction. In fact, she is the face of Goa on the veteran athletics map having represented the state at Nationals for races, wining medals and has even represented India at the Asia meet.
“I was a teacher and headmistress at a Government primary school at Nuvem and at the age of 59 years, 11 months I joined the Goa Veteran Athletes Association. I won the silver medal for the 800 meters race and there was no holding back since then,” said Maria.
Maria, to her credit has won a medal every time she has participated in a race.
When she was 75 years old, she was selected for the nationals at Chennai and participated in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters race and made it to the list that was to go to Malaysia but chose not to for personal reasons mainly as it was out India. She, however, got to participate in the Asian meet when it was held in Bangalore. She was 66 years old then and won a silver medal in the 400 meter race and a gold in the relay.
She has also won the gold medal for Women sports 400 meters and silver for the women sports 200 meters at the Masters Athletic Federation of India race.
When asked about possible health concerns, given that such races are known to exhaust people half her age, Maria said she gives an undertaking that she is responsible for her participation whenever she participates in any sport activity.
She acknowledges that she has health issues but doesn’t let that deter her fighting spirit and her love for outdoor activities. “I have health issues like cholesterol, high blood pressure but thanks to my good doctor and you can say my discipline, it doesn’t bother me,” she quipped when asked how she masters her health problems with her active life. She adds that her heart is strong and good.
“I eat everything in small quantities, mostly fruits like avocado, kiwis, oranges, apples, grapes. I hardly eat rice, maybe a few spoonfuls but very less quantity,” said Maria while explaining what her diet consists of. For breakfast, she has milk and a slice of bread and for exercise, she says it’s nothing much but routine walks to the church, market etc.
“She came all the way by bus from Mapusa for our heritage walk. She is a regular participant at the Goa Quizzes, and was there this time too, when Goan Shutterbugs organised one at Ravindra Bhavan in July,” said Lynn Barreto Miranda, founder of Goan Shutterbugs.
“I was stunned when I met her, an amazing lady. She is India’s no 1 runner in 400mts in the 80-85 years category. She has all my respect and admiration,” exclaimed Jude Cardozo, Maria’s fellow participant in the Heritage walk.
When asked what motivates her to participate, she talks about her younger days when she was teaching in Nuvem and how in travelling from Nuvem to Mapusa and back, she had to take the bus and the ferry to reach school on time and that she had to do a lot of running and jumping while interchanging buses and ferries.
When it was pointed out that there are not many like her, she said that as a senior citizen, she belongs to the older bracket with people mostly in their sixties and encouraged others to follow her footsteps.
She had a message though for the older generation and stressed that it was very important to leave a mark in this world. “People should not think they are ageing and should never think they are 80 or 90. They should think that today is the first day of their life and must do what they feel like doing and with pride,” said Maria who has already become an inspiration for the younger generation and fitness enthusiasts.
