'I'm not the average grandmother': 91-year-old from Woodstock breaks another rowing world record

A 91-year-old woman from Woodstock is a force to be reckoned with after she shattered the lightweight 2,000-metre world record in indoor rowing in the 90 to 94 age group.

This isn’t the only record Alida Kingswood has broken. She has broken three world records in indoor rowing in the last three years.

Her latest record came at the world rowing indoor championships in Mississauga on Saturday.

“I’m not the average grandmother,” she said.

As for how she is doing after breaking the record, Kingswood said she feels great that she was able to do what she set out to.

“When you start something you finish, or you keep doing it,” she said.

Cheered on by the crowd, she pulled past the old record by more than 90 seconds, finishing 10 minutes and 33.30 seconds.

Kingswood’s secret to her health is rowing six times a week, hitting the gym and eating a solid breakfast consisting of chocolate, cheese and coffee.

“For the rest of the day, I eat what I like,” Kingswood said.

Kingswood started rowing competitively about five years ago, but her love for the sport started when she was 18 years old and lived in Holland.

Kingswood plans to continue rowing her way to the top to leave a legacy behind for her family and future generations.

When Kinsgowood broke the record, her daughter-in-law, who was in the stands, said the whole crowd was jumping up and down.

“We were literally jumping up and down in the stands, and the whole crowd was jumping up and down with us,” her daughter-in-law Joan Kingswood said. “They were all just yelling ‘go mom, go oma.”

Adding: “She doesn’t train like an average athlete would train or do these segments or have this going on, and then we’ll develop this area she just goes all out like her personality.”