Madonna Buder
Sister Madonna Buder, S.F.C.C., or the Iron Nun[1] (born July 24, 1930) is a Roman Catholic Religious Sister from Spokane, Washington.
She was born in St. Louis, Missouri in July 1930, and entered the convent at age 23.[2] In 1970 she left the congregation to which she had belonged to join 38 other Sisters from different and varying backgrounds to establish a new and non-traditional community of Sisters. As a member of the non-canonical Sisters for Christian Community, independent of the authority of the Roman Catholic Church, Sister Madonna has had the freedom to choose her own ministry and lifestyle.
[edit] Overview
She began training at age 48 at the behest of Father John who told her it was a way of tweaking, "mind, body, and spirit" and for the relaxation and calmness it can bring an individual. She completed her first Iron Man event at age 55 and has continued ever since.[1]
Buder is well known in the Triathlon community for her achievements in age group races. She has completed over 325 triathlons including 45 Ironman Distances. At the 2005 Hawaii Ironman, at age 75, The Iron Nun became the oldest woman ever to complete the race, finishing 1 hour before the 17-hour midnight cut-off time. At the 2006 Hawaii Ironman, at age 76, she again became the oldest woman ever to complete the race, finishing with a time of 16:59:03.
During her sporting career, she has worked hard at also raising money for various charities. She is quoted as saying, "I train religiously".
On August 24, 2008, Sister Madonna participated in the Ironman race held in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. She was unable to finish the race by a factor of seconds as she was unable to reach the finish line within the 17 hours cut-off limit. Spectators cheered and encouraged her as time ran out. When she was unable to finish many broke down in tears and applauded her efforts nonetheless.
However, 371 days later, on August 30, 2009, Sister Madonna completed Ironman Canada (Penticton, British Columbia) in a time of 16:54:30. This accomplishment broke her own record of being the oldest female to complete the Ironman distance at 79 years old. In fact the Iron Man organization has had to add new age brackets as the Sister gets older![1] Unfortunately, although Sister Madonna started the 2010 Ironman Canada competition at the age of 80 she was unable to complete the course, due to a wetsuit issue.[3] She competed in the 2011 Ironman Canada competition but missed the bike cut-off by 2 minutes. She is willing to compete in an Ironman triathlon again in 2012 as she wants to open up an 80+ age category and be the oldest person, male or female, to finish an Ironman triathlon. She plans to compete in the 2012 Ironman Canada competition and use that as her qualifying race for the Kona Ironman competition.[4]
She is an avid athlete participating in numerous marathons and triathlons in addition to being a senior Olympian.[1] She holds several records in various distances.[3]
On October 5, 2010 Sister Madonna released her autobiography, The Grace to Race: The Wisdom and Inspiration of the 80-Year-Old World Champion Triathlete Known as the Iron Nun. A year later, in October 2011, at age 81, she completed an Iron Man triathathon in under 17 hours.[5]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d At 80, the 'Iron Nun' Prepares for Her Next Triathlon, by Mark Hertz, Tonic, July 23, 2010, accessed July 27, 2010
- ^ http://www.everymantri.com/everyman_triathlon/2010/10/video-dave-erickson-chats-with-iron-nun-sister-madonna-buder-about-what-motivates-her-at-the-age-of-.html
- ^ a b http://impowerage.com/not-too-late/active/the-iron-nun-still-going-strong-at-80
- ^ http://impowerage.com/not-too-late/active/sister-madonna-the-iron-nun-2
- ^ http://www.oldpremeds.org/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/44634/
