The story of 91-year-old "Iron nun" Madonna Buder, a member of IronMan

Madonna Buder, whose real name is Mary Dorothy Buder, is known by the nickname "Iron Nun". Now this woman is 91 years old and she has been seriously engaged in sports since 1982. During this time, she has completed 340 triathlons and has participated in IronMan competitions 46 times. Going to the launch of IronMan in 2016, Buder told reporters: "If the first 45 races didn't kill me, then this one won't kill me either." She was 86 years old and she reached the finish line!

Mary Dorothy Buder was born in July 1930 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Mary was engaged in sports at school and showed good results in running and swimming. At the same time, the woman claims that at that time it was the norm and she did not consider herself an athlete.

The girl studied at the Catholic school at the Byzantine Academy of St. Louis, and at the age of 14 decided to devote herself to God. At the age of 23, Mary entered the convent of the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy of the Good Shepherd. The girl took the name of Madonna Buder, and until 1970 was in the same monastery.

But at the age of 40, Buder, along with 38 other sisters, left the monastery. They decided that they would bring more benefit to the people outside its walls and founded a non-canonical women's religious community "Sisters for the Christian Community". And at the age of 48, Madonna, unexpectedly for everyone, became interested in sports.

Sister Buder claims that her decision to go in for sports was influenced by a conversation with a priest. He said that sport brings peace to a person, serves as a fine-tuning of the mind, body and spirit. Madonna decided to start training with running. She joined a group of amateur athletes and suddenly showed excellent results.

Soon, someone either jokingly or seriously suggested that the nun try herself in the IronMan triathlon. Buder was very scared, but she decided that she would just try and if it didn't work out, she wouldn't be upset. For the first time she took part in a triathlon in 1982 in Ireland and she succeeded!

The competitions were difficult — the running track was over hills, and the water was very cold. As for the bike ride, the Buder got an old men's bike. But this did not prevent the nun from the USA from passing all the tests and getting to the finish line.

180 km by bike, 4 km by swimming and 42 km of marathon in any weather. Not every young male athlete can pass the Ironman. But Buder is sure that it's all about attitude to your body:

Speaking at IronMan in 1996, Buder showed a result of 14:27:14. She was already 66 years old and this was a new world record for athletes in the 65-69 age group. And the "Iron Nun" woman began to be called after her impressive performance in Hawaii in 2005. Madonna turned 75 years old and she became the oldest participant who overcame all the trials.

But this was not the limit. In 2009, in Canada, the Buder showed a result of 16:54:30 and this is at the age of 79! She broke her own record and again became the oldest triathlon athlete in the history of this sport. On Subaru Ironman Canada in 2012, Madonna, at 82, gave the result 16:32:00. With this, she broke the incredible record of 81-year-old Lew Hollander, set a year earlier.

In 2010, Buder wrote the book Grace to Overtake: The Wisdom and Inspiration of an 80-year-Old triathlon champion known as the Iron Nun. She told about her interesting life, the role of sports in it and about interesting people she had to meet.

Now the 91-year-old woman says she feels better than she did at 50. Madonna Buder constantly trains and travels around the world, competing in competitions and just communicating with people in different countries.

In 2016, Nike presented a motivational video with a Buder. It is called "Boundless Youth", and in it 86-year-old Madonna talks about her daily routine. It turns out that a woman runs daily on her way to church and rides 60 km on a bicycle. At the end of the bike ride, she swims in the lake.

The "Iron Nun" also monitors the diet. It is dominated by fresh vegetables and fruits, which Madonna supplements with protein shakes and carbohydrate products. Buder says with a laugh that she gets incomparable pleasure when she easily overtakes people half her age while jogging. At the same time, many honestly admit that they dream of looking the same at 91 and being as energetic as Madonna.