If any records are going to fall at the upcoming Canadian Masters Athletic Championships, taking place in Kamloops this weekend, expect Olga Kotelko to have something to do with it.

The 90-year-old — yes, 90-year-old — athlete will be one of hundreds taking part in the annual national championships, which begin Friday at the Tournament Capital Centre.

She already holds “a number of B.C. records, Canadian records and world records” — just don’t ask her for specifics.

“There’s so many,” she said on the phone from Richmond, where she lives and trains.

“Practically everything in my age category.”

Kotelko has been able to make a name for herself on the Masters athletics scene despite the late start she got in track and field.

“I started when I was 77,” she said.

“I wanted something to do and I thought I was a little too old to play slo-pitch.”

So track and field it was.

Competing in “everything” — shot-put, discus, javelin, hammer throw, long jump, high jump, triple jump and sprints — doesn’t just keep Kotelko in shape.

“It keeps me out of mischief,” said the grandmother of two.

“I’ve stayed out of mischief because I’ve been active, I’ve been travelling to competitions.”

And travel Kotelko has, competing in events in Australia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, Germany, England, Italy and Barbados — just to name a few.

“And, of course, all over the United States and Canada,” she said.

Though she wasn’t much for sports during her first 76 years on the planet, Kotelko said she always knew she had the competitive spirit in her.

“I’m the seventh of 11 children born on the farm in Saskatchewan,” she said.

“Being in that situation, I think it’s in the genes.”

Kotelko spent more than three decades — five years in Saskatchewan and nearly 30 years in Burnaby — as a schoolteacher and she said her educational skills are again coming in handy.

“I’m asked to talk to seniors’ groups and clubs and I tell them the benefits and I encourage them to join sports and keep it up, whatever it may be,” Kotelko said.

“It makes me very happy to see that I can give somebody the inspiration to do it.

“They look at me and say, ‘If Olga can do it, I can do it.’”

Kotelko said she never pictured herself as a world record-holding athlete, but she’s loving the ride.

“A lot of beautiful things have been happening all at once and it’s almost a little bit scary,” she said.

“But it’s exciting. Very exciting.”

MASTERS PRELUDE TO WORLD EVENT

The Tournament Capital Centre will be a busy place this weekend as hundreds of athletes from across the country gather to compete in the Canadian Masters Athletic Championships.

The event, which features athletes ages 35 and up, is a precursor to next year’s World Masters Indoor Championships, also taking place at the TCC.

“Whether you’re the ex-Olympian — and there are some — or the neighbour next door, track and field is a sport that has an event for everyone,” said Judy Armstrong, president of the Kamloops Track and Field Association.

“And it’s not all about winning — it’s about doing a personal best or keeping fit and having a healthy lifestyle.”

Armstrong said she hopes this weekend’s event will convince some non-local athletes to return next March for the Worlds.

“This can be an opportunity for people across Canada to come here and see what our facilities are like in preparation for the World Masters,” she said.

“It’s also a chance for Canadians and British Columbians to compete for a championship in their own community.”

The Canadian Masters Athletic Championships begin Friday and run through Sunday.

The World Masters Indoor Championships take place March 1 to Match 6, 2010.