At the age of 95, Olga Kotelko attracted great attention at the World Masters Athletics Championships. This 5ft-tall Canadian became the oldest recorded woman indoor runner, high jumper and long jumper at the competition. Olga now has more than 30 world records to her name and has won more than 750 gold medals. But she sees herself as nothing special, describing herself as just a plain Jane. As one of 11 children brought up on a farm, she has always been active, milking cows and doing other housework. She has now outlived all her brothers and sisters and most of her friends but when asked what her secret is, she says there isn't one. "I think your age is just a number. It's not your birthday; it's how you age that makes the difference. It's your attitude to all the things that happen in your life that plays the biggest part." So can we all turn ourselves into nonagenarian   superheroes? Research from Newcastle University suggests that as every 24 hours pass, we add an extra five hours to our lives -- that's over 2 months each year--partly because of improving living conditions and medical development. And in the UK the number of people who are living into their 100th year has nearly increased by four times since the 1980s. So ageing is not a terrible thing. While Olga's genes   might help her, we're not all prisoners to our own. After all, 75% of our later lives could be down to the lifestyle we choose to lead. A good diet   and regular exercise are key. Besides, developing friendships in mid-life also works. Dr Holland, director of Aston University's research centre for healthy ageing, says: "The more friends you have when you're 50-60 years old, the less likely you're to be lonely in later life; the less lonely you are, the less likely you're to be ill as the years go by." What did Olga Kotelko mean by describing herself as a plain Jane?
She was hard-working. She was once named Jane. She was very active. She was very common.