Alta Pierson had to move some things around for this interview. The 101-year-old’s schedule is bursting with lunch plans with friends, church events, volunteering, library trips and baking for the many fans of her homemade bread.

Most recently, however, Pierson was booked and busy adding world records to her list of feats. In October, just weeks before her 101st birthday, she competed in the Huntsman World Senior Games. Making her track meet debut, Pierson ran the 50-meter race in a cool 1:01:61. Naturally, this kind of speed earned her the record at the games in the 100–104-year-old division.

And it’s not her only one.

Spectators didn’t know it as they were crowding the stands that day in St. George, Utah, but they were in for a three-peat performance from Pierson, too. That day, she also took home gold for edging out her opponents in the shot put and 400-meter run, and the discus and javelin, for which she also won the world records respectively.

It’s a demanding life for a champion, but Pierson’s up for the challenge. She shared her tips for a long and healthy life with TODAY.com.

Love What You Do

For years, Pierson worked as a high school home economics teacher. She went on to work at a library, then at universities in Nevada and Utah, before she returned to teaching home ec in her hometown of St. George, where she remains today.

“It’s been a wonderful career for me,” Pierson says about her experience teaching home economics. “I loved being with the girls. They were just so much fun,” she tells TODAY.com. “They were really receptive to the things (I taught). So, it was a wonderful experience.”

When Pierson ran into one of her former students, the student admitted she’d always wished she’d had Pierson by her side when she went off to college.

Keep Loved Ones Close

Pierson grew up with six sisters and two brothers. She was married twice, first to a doctor and later to a forest ranger, and she’s a mother to five daughters and one son.

Her family tree is dwindling, she says. Her parents, siblings, both husbands and three of her children have died.

Yet love and loved ones remain a constant in her life. Pierson lives just “around the corner” from her daughter, Demaree Johnson, whom she sees regularly. She lives with her granddaughter. Her daughter-in-law and three grandchildren were visiting Pierson at the time of this interview.

Outside of family, Pierson shops, spends time with and takes walks with her friends from church and her neighborhood.

Be Open to Trying

Saying yes just might earn you a world record or two.

Pierson was reluctant to compete in the 2026 Senior Games at first. “Demaree’s husband was the conceiver of the idea,” she says. He’d been competing in the Games for several years and was adamant that Pierson would land herself on the winner’s podium since there were so few 100-year-old competitors. When she brushed off the idea, he wooed her, gifting her a javelin and a discus last Christmas.

Soon enough, they were training. “We practiced quite a bit,” says Pierson. But on the day of the competition, “I didn’t throw as far as I wanted,” she said about her discus performance. Still, she earned herself the world record. And she also nabbed the world record for the shot put.

By the end of the Games, Pierson had earned gold for her performances in the javelin competition, and 50-meter and 400-meter races, too.

For anyone hesitant about going after a daunting goal, Pierson says, “Go for it. ... It was kind of nerve-wracking to be out there, trying to do something with people watching.” But, she adds, it was worth it.

Stay Active — Both Mentally and Physically

Pierson doesn’t call herself an athlete, but she’s always been active. She was an avid swimmer until she was 98. She’s since slowed down a bit, though.

Now, aside from her showings at the Games, she’s focused on getting her steps in. Her favorite form of movement is walking, especially making loops around the local mall with friends.

Occupy Your Mind and Hands

Pierson’s known for her baking. She’s always baked bread, but cinnamon rolls are her specialty.

Once she’s shared her baked goods with family and friends, she turns her attention to books, making frequent trips to the library.

She’s also got a gift for sewing. “I did nearly all the clothes that I had,” says Pierson, and she made clothing for all of her children. When she wasn’t working on clothing, she’d hand-make quilts — something she still does for her great-grandchildren.

These days, she also sews for an organization that supports girls worldwide who have limited access to menstrual products and education.

Look After Your Health

If you live to be 100 or older, suddenly everyone will start asking you for the secret to a long life, and Pierson hates the question.

She answers it anyway: “Well, just try to take care of (yourself) and get up every morning.”

Pierson has never smoked, doesn’t drink and eats meals made from whole foods, including a lot of fruit. Her genes, she and her daughter agree, likely have something to do with it, too.