92-year-old woman breaks sprinting world record: ‘I’m ready to croak’

Diane Hoffman turned 92 years old Wednesday, and she’s really not slowing down.

The Boston grandmother of nine just beat the world record for her age group in the 400-meter dash at last weekend’s USA Track and Field Championships in Boston, after picking up the sport just last year.

When she crossed the finish line last weekend, she told her family in a video between swigs of Gatorade, “I’m ready to croak!”

But Hoffman’s healthy as a horse. She also nabbed the US record in her age group for the 100- and 200-meter dashes.

Hoffman tells The Post that although she’s “not a runner,” she’s just competitive as hell. She’s also a tennis fanatic who didn’t start playing until she was in her 40s, when she spontaneously took a tennis lesson while tagging along with her husband on a business trip on the West Coast.

“The minute I held that racket in my hand that was it — I fell in love with tennis,” she says.

She quickly became a champion in the sport. In 2005, she and her tennis partner won gold for the United States in the Queens Cup in Turkey in the 75-and-older category. She’s racked up so many victories, she’s now in the US Tennis Association’s New England Hall of Fame.

The sport kept her in shape and constantly running laps around those much, much younger than her. Last year, on a walk with her son and grandson, she found they were eating her dust.

“So my son, without telling me, he just signed me up for a race.”

Last year, she ran her first a 100-meter dash and absolutely clobbered the competition, winning the US record in that category. She signed up again for this year’s USA Track and Field Championships and scooped up even more records.

“Running is not something I was ever interested in,” she says, but when her son pushed her to add another form of exercise to her already vigorous schedule, she couldn’t let him down, she says. “He’s the best son in the world.”

Hoffman, who also has two daughters, plays tennis every day. But you won’t find her hitting the weight bench: “I hate the gym,” she says. Her only training regimen is an unconventional one.

“When I get up and feel like staying in bed all day, I drink coffee, water, and get on a trampoline for one or two minutes,” she says. “It sure does get your heart rate up. After that, I want to get out there and hit that ball.”

As for running, Hoffman taps into her wild side for some extra motivation to cross the finish line: “Pretend the police are chasing you!”

Hoffman says she’s living her healthiest life — and happiest one. “I eat cookies, candy and ice cream every day. I have a sweet tooth.” She’ll probably have more cake Wednesday, since it’s her birthday, she says.

“I’m very blessed, I’m telling you, someone’s looking out for me,” she says.