Lola Holmes belies her age every time she takes to the ice to curl.
She throws rocks, jogs beside them as she sweeps and keeps competitors on their toes.
“She’s fun and dangerous, as you can see, because she gets them in,” says her opponent Sharon Carefoot, with a laugh. “It’s good to curl against her.”
What makes her remarkable is that Holmes turned 100 years old on Sept. 16, surrounded by more than 130 cheering friends and family.
Monday, she took to the ice for the first time since passing the century mark and has now been been nominated to the Guinness Book of World Records to get official recognition as the world’s oldest curler.
“I would have never dreamed. I would have never thought there was such a person in the world,” she told CTV Vancouver. “I never even thought I would be living when I was 100, let alone curling.”
The rink has been her second home for 20 years and she plays two days a week.
“I love it. I love the game. It’s lots of fun,” said Holmes, a widow with two sons.
According to a profile on the Curl B.C. website, Holmes briefly took up curling at age 25 while working as a nurse in Sudbury, Ont. After retiring, she moved to Vancouver, where she picked up the sport again at the age of 80.
She then joined a seniors group at the Vancouver Curling Club.
She developed carpal tunnel in both wrists and needed surgery. But it certainly didn’t slow her down. She started using a stick – which she’s named Peter – to push the 43-pound stone down the ice.
“She’s an inspiration. The first time I met her, I couldn’t believe her age,” said Holmes’ skip Marlene Rockliff.
Holmes isn’t just a curler. She does tai chi twice a week, plays bridge, and visits friends.
Keeping active is her not-so-secret recipe to staying young.
“We can all do nothing. We can all do something. And to me, making life worthwhile, let’s do something.”
