Ruth Pauline Frith (born Ruth Pursehouse, 23 August 1909 – 28 February 2014) was an Australian centenarian masters athlete. She was the oldest active athlete. She is the current holder of the masters world record in numerous events including the W85 Triple Jump, W100 Shot Put, Discus, Hammer Throw, Weight Throw and Javelin Throw and was the oldest competitor to complete a

Throws Pentathlon The throws pentathlon also called the weight pentathlon is a combined event in track and field. Like all pentathlon events, it consists of five events; the four Olympic throwing events hammer throw, shot put, discus throw and javelin throw, plus ...

and thus holds the record in that event. In younger age divisions, she held many more records that have been surpassed. Her famous quote for longevity: She was the mother of Australian Olympic jumper and pentathlete

Helen Frith Helen Audrey Ray Frith (born 12 July 1939) is an Australian athlete. She competed in the 1960 and 1964 Olympics, representing her native country in the long jump, high jump and pentathlon. She won silver medals at the 1962 British Empire and ...

, who under her married name of Searle is also a multiple masters world record holder.

Early life

Ruth Pursehouse was born in

Goulburn, New South Wales Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

. She attended Goulburn High School, a NSW selective school, and was originally planning on becoming a solicitor. She won the state title in the 100 yard dash at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and association fo ...

and played

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shootin ...

as a girl. It was on a hockey trip to

Dubbo Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and G ...

that she met her future husband Ray Frith. They were married in 1933. She became active in sports administration as a young girl.

Sports athlete

An accomplished musician with the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music and known by the moniker "The Con") is a heritage-listed music school in Macquarie Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the ol ...

, she served as the student representative to the Sports Union for Athletics. After playing with the Gouldburn Hockey Club, she served on the team committee. Her husband's work as a civil engineer took them to

Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

where she was Secretary of the Darwin Golf Club. After 5 years in Lithgow, where Ray surveyed the athletics fields for Dubbo,

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower * Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum ...

Bathurst Bathurst may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Australia * Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia and the following things associated with the city ** Bathurst Region, the local government area for the Bathurst urban area and rural surrounds ** ...

and Lithgow the couple lived in Sydney, where they were the power couple of athletics officiating. She was a leader with the Women's Amateur Athletics Association of NSW serving as Country Secretary, Records Officer, State Executive, and Secretary of the Northern Suburbs Women's club and Mid-west club. She also coached

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

ing, in which her daughter excelled. She took up being an active athlete in 1982 at the age of 73.

Recognition

Prior to her sporting career, she worked with the Northern Territory Indigenous Community in which she was given the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal in 1953. She was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

in recognition of service to athletics in the 1994 Australia Day Honours, and in 2000 was a recipient of the

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

Later life

She moved to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

to be with her daughter. Helen estimates she set as many as 25 world records in her career. Ruth was featured in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

documentary about and entitled the 100+ Club. She died in Algester in February 2014, aged 104.

Additional

List of centenarian masters track and field athletes In the sport of athletics, centenarian competitors were recorded in the early 20th century, and have become increasingly common in the 21st century. This has occurred during a period of population ageing and increased longevity in wealthy countri ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frith, Ruth 1909 births 2014 deaths Australian female long jumpers Australian female triple jumpers Australian female shot putters Australian female discus throwers Australian female hammer throwers Australian female javelin throwers Athletes from Sydney Athletes from Brisbane Australian masters athletes World record holders in masters athletics Australian athletics coaches Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Australian centenarians Women centenarians 20th-century Australian women