Athletics
Meet Daisy Victor: The 89-year-old with 414 medals to her name
Age is just a number for 89-year-old Daisy Victor. Still going strong, the Tamil Nadu lady has participated in over 20 international meets, 36 national meets, 59 district meets, and has won 414 medals. In 2018, she added another feather to her cap by winning the bronze medal at World Masters Athletics Championships for shot put and discus throw.
Hailing from Tirunelveli, Daisy grew up in Bellary, Karnataka. Her postmaster father and later her husband Victor Sundarajan inspired her to never stop in life, which took her to win a spree of medals.
Daisy Victor won the bronze medal at World Masters Athletics Championships for shot put & discus throw in 2018. 🥉
Age is just a number for the 89-year-old from Tamil Nadu, who has won 414 medals across international, national and district level competitions.#Athletics pic.twitter.com/nLY4Gxl0Lf
— The Bridge (@TheBridge_IN) January 19, 2021
An athlete from her school level, Daisy secured a job with Madras Telephones in 1951, where, as an athlete, she was given special permission to train for two hours every day. She represented the organisation in many sports events where she won medals on every occasion. Even after marriage, in between giving birth to six children, she continued with her sports. It was the legendary Milkha Singh, who visited Chennai in 1980, who motivated Daisy to participate in world veteran athletic meets, and in 1981, she went to New Zealand and secured the 7th rank.
In 2018, besides the Masters Athletics Championships, she won bronze at the Masters Meet in Spain and three gold medals at the district level masters meet. Daisy, who also specialised in triple jump and long jump goes to practice early morning and then reaches the office after training.
In an interview with a publisher in 2018, Daisy said she has not had even a headache or illness because of her genes. Though the government has not honoured Daisy, she received sports medicine treatment free of cost for the past few years from a doctor. Her proudest moment in her career was when the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi felicitated her along with Milkha Singh.
