Duncan athlete Lynn Thompson took the 2025 BC Athletics Indoor Track and Field Championships by storm March 7-8 in Kamloops. The 86-year-old track and field star won four gold medals, set four new records for his age group and what's more, he did it all on the same day.
On Saturday, March 8, Thompson broke a Canadian record in the triple jump for his age group, and also broke B.C. age-group records in long jump, 60m, and hurdles as well.
Thompson's triple jump record of 6.70 metres set both the B.C. and Canadian records in the 85-89 age group. Thompson also set records in the 60m hurdles with a time of 15 seconds and long jump with a distance of 3.02 metres.
The Canadian triple jump record for that group had last been set in 1994 and Thompson, at the young end of his age category, suggested that the records weren鈥檛 that hard to break because there aren鈥檛 many his age who are still completing in those events.
This may be so, but last year he ranked third in the 200m hurdles and fifth in the 80m hurdles according to the World Masters Rankings. To put it another way, only two men aged 85-89 in the entire world ran the 200m hurdles faster than he did last year.
Simply put, he's one of the best. But it's taken decades to get there.
Thompson has been active all his life, competing in track and field in high school, playing intramural football at university, and running road races and backpacking in the mountains as an adult. He curled for many years and has returned to curling recently in Duncan. While teaching high school in Saskatchewan, he also coached track and field and cross-country.
He returned to the track as a Master鈥檚 competitor, starting with distance events, then slowly moving to shorter distances when he found the longer distances too hard on his body. Along with the sprints, he did long jump and triple jump, and started running hurdles when he turned 74.
He is not affiliated with any team, and trains on his own at the Duncan track, hauling the hurdles out of his car and to the track once or twice a week, weather permitting.
He credits the great facilities in Duncan with his success. Being able to train on the all-season track throughout the year allows him to stay on top of his game.
Thompson is looking forward to the summer outdoor season to challenge a few more records. Wish him luck when you see him training at the track!
"He's the only person I know who looks forward to getting older whenever he'll be in a new age category," said his daughter Jan, with a chuckle. "So he was extra excited about his 80th and 85th birthdays!"
