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Swim of the Century

BRISBANE, Australia () -- Mary Maina took more than five minutes to cover 50 meters in the pool at the World Masters Games on Friday, but she and the hundreds of applauding spectators were not complaining.


Marvelous Mary, as she is known to her friends, celebrated her 101st birthday two weeks ago. Her 5:12.34 clocking gave her an unofficial Masters Games record in the 100-104-year-old category, although she was the only competitor in her age group.


"I was determined I would get to the end," said Maina, who has a pacemaker. She turned up at the competition with a letter from her doctor, detailing her daily medications -- just in case she was drug tested.

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