4x Olympian Joetta Clark Diggs 🇺🇸 laced up her spikes for the first time in over two decades at the USATF Masters Indoor Championships this past weekend, clocking a 200m American record of 28.62s in the 60-64 age category!!!
The headline might be a bit confusing because of the way it's phrased. "Had competed" refers to Joetta Clark Diggs' extensive career as a competitive athlete up until the 2000 Olympics. It implies that she had been actively competing for many years (25 years, in this case) before taking a long break.
The correct way to phrase it might be: "Joetta Clark Diggs, who had competed for 25 years up until the 2000 Olympics, broke the American record in her first race back."
I know a former professional runner who has only raced twice since retiring from elite racing. We did a 10km just after his 40th birthday and he won it. He took another decade off of racing and came back at age 50 and won another 10km. I guess he won't race again until he turns 60.
p.s. He does run everyday, so it isn't as if he is out of shape, he just doesn't race.
