World record-holder and gold medal winning athlete Julia Hawkins - nicknamed 'Hurricane' - dies aged 108 after 'short illness'

Hawkins died on 22 October in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, her daughter, Margaret Matens, confirmed to ABC News. The mother-of-four picked up the sport of running at age 100 and went on to set world records and win gold medals.

Hawkins told Good Morning America in 2019 that she turned to running at age 100 as an alternative to competitive cycling, a sport in which she also won multiple national titles after picking it up later in life. Among other titles, Hawkins set a world record in the 100-meter dash at the 2017 National Senior Games.

Two years later, at the 2019 National Senior Games, Hawkins won gold medals in both the 50-meter dash and the 100-meter dash in the women's 100-plus division. Hawkins told GMA in 2019: "I just keep busy. I keep moving. I don't do any exercises particularly. I used to, but I don't think I need to anymore. I've always been careful how I eat, eat healthy and keep my weight at a certain point”.

Matens said Hawkins also attributed her longevity to her many passions, which included fly fishing, gardening, reading, raising bonsai trees and watching Louisiana State University football. Hawkins' late husband, who died in 2013 at the age of 95, was a professor at LSU, according to Matens.

Hawkins ran her last race three years ago at the age of 105 in her home state of Louisiana. She set a new record during the race as the only woman in the 105-109 age group to run the 100-meter dash.

Matens added that Hawkins' body would be donated, at her request, to the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University, which is studying longevity. In addition to Matens, Hawkins is survived by another daughter, Julia Battle, her sons, Warren Hawkins and Murray Hawkins III, her sister, Mickey McCall,three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.