Centurion recovers from nasty fall to break record

When life knocks you down, you get back up and keep running – especially if you're a 100-year-old world record breaker.

Retired teacher Ella Mae Colbert recovered from a nasty fall to cruise into the record books by crushing the time set for the 100m sprint by a 100-year-old.

Colbert returned to her old school in South Carolina for her shot at the history books but nearly left with a serious injury when she took a painful fall during her first attempt.

Refusing to give up though, Colbert bandaged her banged-up chin, re-took her spot at the starting line and strode into the history books with a time of 46.791s.

"You do not stop," Colbert said after the race. "Go ahead. You'll have some trials and you'll have something that get in your way.

"But you don’t let it get you down."

Colbert's world record mark smashed the previous best of 1min 17.33s set by American runner Ida Keeling when she became the first woman in history to complete the 100m sprint at the age of 100 earlier this month.