Yet that was the distinction for Elsie Wilkie who won her first world singles bowls title in 1973 at the age of 50. And she successfully defended her title four years later. Just to show how good she could be, Wilkie in 1977 challenged three men’s champions, Ivan Kostanich, Phil Skoglund and Wayne Sellars, and beat each of them. Wilkie didn’t take up bowls until she was 31 and continued to play until 1988, when she was 66. She won eight national titles and 28 Waikato Centre titles and was later a national selector. Return to the Inductee list