Madonna Buder
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Sister Madonna Buder (born July 24, 1930) is a Roman Catholic nun from Spokane, Washington. As a nun with the Sisters for Christian Community, Sister Madonna has the freedom to choose her own ministry and lifestyle.
She is well known in the Triathlon community for her achievements in age group races. She has completed over 325 triathlons including 35 Ironman Distances. At the 2005 Hawaii Ironman, at age 75, she 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.
Sister Buder started running at the age of 49. 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.
