When American ultrarunning legend Camille Herron broke her own women's 100-mile (160km) world record at the USA Track & Field 100-mile Championships at the weekend, it was remarkable in itself.
Even more noteworthy was that, as the first woman across the finish line, she was also the overall winner of the race. The second-place finisher, a man, was a distant 50 minutes behind.
The 2017 winner of our own Comrades Marathon did so as a masters athlete ... those aged 40 and above. This was her first masters race.
The victory and record have confirmed what some athletics commentators have been saying – that Herron's talent only comes around once in a lifetime.
She has become a wonderful ambassador for women's sport and, with the 100-miler triumph, has raised the intriguing possibility of whether the natural physical differences between men and women – where men are stronger in most athletic events – might not be negated at the extreme end of the competition spectrum.
She's also proved that age is a just a number.
The ever-smiling Herron has shown that women in sport do not have to step aside for men – or follow in their footsteps. They, too, can set the pace.
