It may not be Rio, but two century-old runners won gold medals in Vancouver on Monday after racing a metre for every year they've been alive.

Thousands of athletes travelled to Vancouver for the Americas Masters Games, a nine-day event for competitors over the age of 30.

One of the oldest competitors was 100-year-old Man Kaur, a well-known runner from India.

Kaur started running when she was 93, and has trained every day since then.

"It is special at this age," her son Gurdev Singh told CTV Vancouver.

"She's very famous in India... She's amazing."

Kaur already held medals in shotput and javelin as she raced toward the finish line at the University of British Columbia's Rashpal Dhillon Track and Field Oval Monday afternoon.

In one minute and 27 seconds of cheering and clapping, Kaur was done. Winning a gold with a little help up onto the podium, Kaur was told she'd inspired other runners.

Marie Johnson, a runner in her 60s, was one of the athletes inspired.

"It's fabulous to think maybe at 100 I'll still be out here on the track doing something," Johnson said.

When asked about her secret, Kaur's son said she only eats home cooked meals, and never any fried foods.

She shares that secret with a fellow America's Masters gold medal winner, 101-year-old Nihal Gill from Richmond, B.C.

Gill is also a vegetarian, and doesn't drink alcohol. Both Gill and Kaur were the only participants in their age category.

But more importantly, "we love each other. That's the main thing," Kaur's son said.

With a report from CTV Vancouver's Nafeesa Karim