Elderly woman clears pole vault at US high school track meet, video goes viral

A video of an elderly woman clearing a pole vault at a high school track meet in the United States has gone viral on social media, with users praising her for her courage.

The video shows the athletes preparing for their events at the meet when an elderly participant draws everyone's attention. Holding a pole, with a stooped posture and taking slow steps, she gets ready for the pole vault event, wearing a T-shirt with the American flag and sports shorts. Given her wrinkled face and frail frame, many in the crowd assumed she would not be able to do much, but what happened next surprised everyone.

Holding the pole, she ran slowly towards the bar and then cleared the jump to complete the event. As she vaulted over, she turned on the other side of the pole and landed on the mats below. Her face showed clear joy, while the people around her looked on in astonishment. The video of her feat is now spreading rapidly on social media, with many praising her for her spirit.

The video was shared from a Facebook account called Senior Salute and has received more than 6.7 million views so far, with several users leaving amused reactions. One user commented, "I'm getting older in my youth and this aunty is getting younger in her old age." Another wrote, "Whatever bones aunty had must have all broken." Another user wrote, "The joy on her face made her hard work worth it."