(WSVN) - A South Florida woman is chasing gold in her golden years. The runner is on track to represent the Sunshine State on the national stage. The Nightteam’s Heather Walker shines the 7 Spotlight on her story.
At 84 years old, JoAnn Sampson is not slowing down — literally.
JoAnn Sampson, sprinter: “Eighty-four-year-old, some days I feel 48 because I’m training with my trainer, and just stretching and doing everything, so I feel a lot younger.”
We watched as JoAnn and her trainer, Eleazar Murphy, went through a morning workout in Hollywood.
Eleazar Murphy, trainer: “As a trainer, she’s like living proof of what exercise and eating right does.”
From warming up, to jumping rope and strength training.
JoAnn Sampson: “Yeah, she’s tough on me. I needed someone not to treat me like an old lady, but give me the skills and things that I need to run my race.”
Running races is this senior sprinter’s specialty — competing in the 50-, 100- and 200-meter dashes.
Eleazar Murphy: “The other trainers would be like, ‘You know, you should not be having her run.’ I’m like, ‘She’s a sprinter, number one, so she has to run,’ you know what I mean? So to tell her that she can’t run, that’s crazy.”
JoAnn Sampson: “This map is all the places where I’ve left my footprints.”
Each sticker on this U.S. map represents a place where JoAnn has laced up her running shoes.
A wall at her home is adorned with an array of medals for her accomplishments.
JoAnn Sampson: “This is my purpose. You know, we all have a purpose.”
And if you think JoAnn has been racing her whole life, think again. The retired public school teacher started running at age 62.
JoAnn Sampson: “I finished from Miami Northwestern in 1960. They didn’t have track for girls; everything was for boys. The only thing I did in high school was a cheerleader.”
JoAnn credits her soulmate of 50 years, who passed away in 2022, as the one who got her into track.
JoAnn Sampson: “‘Pump them arms, pump them arms,’ and I can hear him. I still visualize him still there, at the end of the lane, and I just get my power from that.”
In December, JoAnn finished second in her age group in the Florida Senior Games. That qualified her for the National Senior Games in Iowa, which run through Aug. 4.
JoAnn Sampson: “I’m just going to show them the bottom of my cleats. JoAnn’s still got game.”
The 2025 National Senior Games feature more than 12,500 athletes competing in 25 different sports.
Florida has the most athletes of any state in the country, and JoAnn’s mission is to draw even more attention to her fellow seniors.
JoAnn Sampson: “I feel like I was chosen for this, to let seniors know that no matter what age you are, you can do something. You know, follow your heart. We are a generation of champions.”
And JoAnn doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. Next year, she will move up to the 85-to-89 age bracket and says she’s motivated by her elders on the track.
JoAnn Sampson: “We have a team of 90s. I’ll see them in National. Yeah, I want to be like them.”
Athletes embodying the phrase “age is just a number,” one race at a time.
Heather Walker, 7News.
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