At 82 years old, Faith O’Reilly is "lifting" her best life. The Colorado resident is currently the oldest female participant in the powerlifting category at the 2025 National Senior Games. She took up powerlifting in law school at the University of Iowa, where she won multiple Iowa state championships as she lifted the double burden of weights and school, graduating and going on to teach undergraduate level legal studies and paralegal work in the criminal justice field. After retiring and moving to the tiny town of Saguache in Colorado, she took up powerlifting again in 2007. In 2023, she took the gold medal in the women’s triathlon relay for the 75 and older bracket. O’Reilly says she would recommend powerlifting to anyone of any age. “It’s overall good for you physically, and as you age you can have problems with bone density and losing muscle tone,” she said. “The oldest person who competed in Pittsburgh was 103, so that gives me a goal.”
