Erwin Jaskulski

Erwin Jaskulski (born September 24, 1902 in Chernivtsi , † March 10, 2006 in Honolulu ) was an Austrian senior athlete who emigrated to Hawaii in the 1950s and who caused a sensation between 1997 and 2004 with several sprint world records. He was the first over 100-year-old to competitively run the 200-meter course and also to start over 100, 200 and 400 meters in a single day.

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Erwin Jaskulski lost his parents at an early age. He was an orphan as early as 1913 and was raised in a children's home until he was 14 years old. He then moved to Vienna in order to be trained as an officer at the local cadet school . After the end of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy , he earned his living in trade and industry. On the side he learned six foreign languages and eventually worked as an interpreter , especially during the years of World War II, which he spent mainly in France . After the end of the war he returned to Vienna and entered the service of the American occupation. In 1954 he emigrated to Hawaii , where he worked for KHON TV for around twenty years .

Jaskulski was an avid skier. However, since he could not practice this sport in Hawaii, he became a mountaineer and joined the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club . In the course of his approximately 50-year membership, he covered a total of around 10,000 miles. Since he always carried his ski poles with him, he was nicknamed “Ski Poles”. However, with age, his eyes deteriorated so much that he could no longer see obstacles and ran the risk of falling on unexploited paths. He was therefore advised to move his sporting activities to stadium tracks. In 1997, the now 95-year-old, who had not competed in any sport for over 70 years, was persuaded to participate in the Aloha State Games . There he achieved a sensation by improving the 100 meter world record in his age group by more than 14 seconds. He gave his comments in Latin: "Veni, vidi, vici!"

In 2004 he appeared in sports dress for the Aloha Masters Tournament , but did not start because he had largely lost his eyesight and could no longer see the career limit. The audience said goodbye to him with standing ovations .

He received numerous invitations to talk shows, such as B. by Jay Leno , but he refused on the grounds that it was not worth to fly as far, just to talk a little bit (instead of running).

Erwin Jaskulski has been named Hawaiian Senior Sportsman of the Year twice.

He died of old age in his apartment, where he had looked after himself until the end. According to his own statement, he was not made for marriage, which his second wife, a Hawaiian, is said to have confirmed after the divorce. His first marriage (1939–1947) resulted in two sons, Jörg and Wolf, who live in Austria .

World records

M95 :
- 100 m in 24.01 s on May 1st, 1999
The record was improved in 2005 by the Japanese Kozo Haraguchi to 21.69 s.
- 200 m in 57.98 s on July 17, 1999
- 400 m in 2: 38.64 min on September 24, 2000
M100 :
- 100 m in 36.49 s (previously 43 s) and
- 200 m in 2: 07.85 min (first ever recorded 200 m time in this age group) on November 16, 2002 in Honolulu.
These performances are all the more remarkable when you consider that it was pouring rain and that Jaskulski also had injuries to his arm and both knees after tripping over a starting block while warming up. Both records were improved in 2004 by Philip Rabinowitz to 30.86 s and 1: 17.59 min.
- 400 m in 3: 40.97 min on March 13, 2003

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Jaskulski, Erwin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Austrian athlete
DATE OF BIRTH	September 24, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH	Chernivtsi
DATE OF DEATH	March 10, 2006
Place of death	Honolulu