On Nov. 30, Canada and the province of Alberta misplaced a influential member of the working group with the dying of 11-time Canadian masters report holder Helena “Helly” Visser of Calgary. She died on the age of 89.
Born in Hilversum, The Netherlands, in 1934, Visser got here to Canada in her youth. Her working journey started after her three youngsters left dwelling to pursue their schooling. With time on her fingers, she found a ardour for pushing her limits and embraced the outside.
In 1995, she formally entered aggressive occasions for Canada, profitable gold within the W60 1,500m on the WAVA (now WMA) meet. Through the years, Visser achieved exceptional success in her age group, setting three world masters age group information and 11 Canadian masters information throughout center distances from 800m to three,000m (indoor and outside).
Visser competed on the masters stage provincially, nationally, and in quite a few world championships. Notably, she nonetheless holds three world masters information within the W80 class for the 1,500m, mile and three,000m occasions. Moreover, she boasts quite a few Alberta provincial masters information, obtained a number of honours as Athletics Alberta Masters Athlete of the 12 months, and was inducted into the Canadian Masters Athletics Corridor of Fame in 2010.
80-year outdated Roger Davis and 81-year outdated Helly Visser simply ran the mile right here on the @RunningRoom Indoor Video games pic.twitter.com/20syYXNI2V
— Mark Connolly (@MarkConnollyCBC) March 13, 2016
Past her athletic accomplishments, Visser performed an lively function in selling the game inside Calgary’s group. She organized native working clinics and helped advocate for the development of an indoor observe and subject home.
Competing on the masters stage till the age of 85 in 2019, Visser served as an inspiration to many runners. Her love for steady studying and her dedication to enchancment via shared experiences made her a cherished determine within the working group.
In reminiscence of Visser and her love for the outside, a tree shall be planted within the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Space in Calgary’s Fish Creek group.
