Senior sprinter Julia 'Hurricane' Hawkins dies at 108

Julia Hawkins, the centenarian sprinter known as “Hurricane” and “The Flower Lady,” died in Baton Rouge, La., this week at the age of 108.

Sue Hlavacek, president and CEO of the National Senior Games Association (NSGA), confirmed her death to NPR.

According to The New York Times, Hawkins was born Feb. 10, 1916, in Wisconsin but lived in Baton Rouge for a long time.

She attended Louisiana State University, where she met her husband, Murray Hawkins. Hawkins and Murray were married unconventionally. At the time, Murray was deployed with the U.S. Navy; he was at Pearl Harbor when it was bombed during WWII. It was during this deployment that the couple began their decades-long marriage.

"When they sent him out there, we were married by telephone," Hawkins told NPR member station WWNO in 2022. "My father-in-law went with me to Baton Rouge to see if it was legal in Louisiana. And it was. So we were married by telephone."

The pair would have four children during their 70-year-long union. Murray died in 2013 at 95 years old.

Hawkins was a lifelong athlete. She showed interest in cycling for much of her life before losing interest due to a lack of competition.

“There wasn’t anyone left my age to compete with,” she told the NSGA in 2021.

Hawkins became a darling of the track and field world when she took up running at 100 years old.

According to media reports, she started running at the urging of her children. It wasn’t long before she asserted her dominance in the sport, setting the 100-meter record in the 100-104 age category in 2017 with a swift finish of 39:62.

She set several other records in her age bracket and charmed crowds with her forthright demeanor.

The great-grandmother got the name "Hurricane" on the track for her racing prowess, but her other nickname, "The Flower Lady," came from her love of gardening. During her races, she could be seen with her trademark flower tucked behind her ear as she breezed across the track.

In 2021, at a spritely 105 years of age, Hawkins became the first female track and field athlete in the 105+ age bracket to clock a time in the 100-meter dash.

With a finishing time of 1:02:95, she expressed disappointment that she hadn’t performed as well as she had hoped.

"It was wonderful to see so many family members and friends. But I wanted to do it in less than a minute," she said after the race, according to the NSGA.

When someone in the crowd asked whether it made her feel any better to realize that her time was still less than her age, she said: "No."

Hlavacek, the NSGA chief, said that that was precisely her incisive sense of humor.

“She was a phenomenal athlete and just a very sweet woman. Very inspirational to our community, and also to the world as an athlete,” Hlavacek said.

Hlavacek said her message inspired millions, noting Hawkins' determination to compete and excel.

“It's never too late to take on something new, and that was Julia Hawkins for sure,” Hlavacek said.