While some people don’t make it to their 90s without a cane, walker or wheelchair, one lady defied the odds by literally skating into her 90s, figure skating, that is.

Yvonne Dowlen first started figure skating when she was a child. Her family took a trip to Evergreen, Colorado, where they skated outside on a lake, and she quickly fell in love with the sport.

She later turned her beloved sport into her profession by skating in the Ice Capades back in the 1930s. Thinking about about those days, she says, “I loved being in the show.”

Later, she continued her profession by teaching figure skating classes. She didn’t stop skating when she started teaching though. She says about her life in general, “I guess some people can direct their lives, but I kind of just let mine happen.”

At age 80, a car accident threatened Dowlen’s skating adventures. One day while driving to the rink, she was hit by a van. She suffered from a concussion, and her doctors didn’t think she would ever skate again. Dowlen didn’t let her doctors’ opinions stop her.

Even when she wasn’t on the ice, Dowlen continued to practice her moves off the ice. Eventually, her doctors cleared her to lace up her skates once again. Two months after the accident, she was back on the ice.

That wasn’t her only challenge. At 88 years old, Dowlen had a stroke. She was in the hospital for a couple days. She admits that after her stroke she wasn’t able to do a lot of the things that she was once able to do, and she had to relearn a lot of things. That didn’t stop her from skating.

At age 90, Dowlen was still skating 5 days every week and even performing in skating competitions. In fact, she was the oldest competitive figure skater, and was featured in a documentary about her skating career called “Edges.”

In the documentary, Dowlen says, “It is easier to skate than walk.” While many people may disagree, Dowlen argues that “you don’t have to keep moving your feet all the time.”

It’s sad to say that Dowlen is no longer with us. She passed away on May 2nd, 2016. She was doing what she loved most, figure skating. Her heart gave out while she was at an ice-skating rink in Colorado. She literally skated until her very last day.

We can all only hope that we live such long, vibrant lives doing what we love until our final day on earth.

In video footage of her last figure skating competition, we see Dowlen gliding gracefully across the ice, even completing complicated moves and spins with ease. It really is hard to believe that she’s actually 90 years old in this footage.

Watch the video below to see Dowlen compete in her very last national figure skating competition.

Have you ever tried figure skating? What hobby or sport do you hope you’ll be doing until your final day on earth?