She's 85 and just won a gold medal in a national alpine skiing race. How does she do it?

RIB MOUNTAIN - Standard wisdom would not encourage someone older than 80 years old to take up alpine ski racing.

Mary Beth Kuester did not get the message.

An unconventional thinker and an extraordinary athlete, the 85-year-old Antigo woman just won a US Ski & Snowboard national masters super-G race, held Feb. 9 at Granite Peak Ski Area in Rib Mountain. The only competitor in the women's 85-89 age group, she cruised down the course just a hair faster than 3 minutes, 10 seconds.

The time, which was slow compared to the other skiers in the younger age groups, didn't matter to Kuester: "I got my gold medal," she said with a broad smile.

At the same time, she doesn't plan to rest on her laurels. The way she figures it, she's just getting started. A longtime skier, she only started competing seriously last winter, "and I'm so much better than I was last year."

Kuester aims to build on her success and get better. She brushes aside the idea that a person in her 80s might want to be more cautious and careful.

"I am kind of fearless," Kuester said. "I'd kind of like to race until I'm 90."

After her gold-medal performance, she sat down with us in Granite Peak's Sundance Chalet to talk about what drives her forward.

Why would an 85-year-old want to start alpine ski racing?

Kuester started skiing in the 1950s. Her late brother-in-law, Roger Doran, taught her and her sister, Kay Kuester Doran, on Rib Mountain. Through the years, as younger, adventurous people, they all skied in top ski areas in the U.S. and Europe.

The sisters left the sport for a while but came back to Rib Mountain after the COVID-19 lockdown ended. Granite Peak offered free skiing to people over 80, and the duo picked up where they left off. Kay Kuester Doran, older than Mary Beth, still skis, but doesn't race. The older sister doesn't like speed all that much or heights, either, Mary Beth Kuester said, laughing. "She is in the wrong sport."

While skiing at Granite Peak, Kuester learned about some regional races for master skiers, and she decided to go all in. Skiing for fun is great, but Kuester is addicted to competition.

"We've always kind of been that way," Kuester said. Growing up in Clintonville, the sisters' mother "always kind of pushed us. We've competed in baton twirling. We were in debate in high school. So it's always been a competition. And with our mother, only first was good enough. ... And that was a good thing, because I think it makes you achieve. For us it was a good thing."

How does an octogenarian get better at a fast sport like downhill skiing?

Kuester always took ski lessons, well after she got proficient at the sport.

"I always wanted to get better, and I don't want to waste time, and I don't want repeat something that isn't correct," she said.

Most of the time, she said, her goal "was to learn to ski to be able to negotiate black diamonds (difficult ski runs). I didn't want to turn around and say I can't go down that. So I got to the point where I wanted to go through a race course ... and go fast."

Racing is different than recreational skiing, so she hired a racing coach to help her.

"I've been skiing with him three days a week for three hours. And he's making me from an advanced-intermediate skier to an advanced skier," Kuester said. "My goal is that I'm going to get better. So I am going to get better."

She's learned to ski more aggressively, using the edges of her skis more to carve out efficient turns. She's also bought two racing suits and two pairs of racing boots and skis. The equipment makes her more aerodynamic.

"It makes a difference," Kuester said. "It comes down to a matter of seconds, you know. It's funny. And it's kind of fun."

How does Mary Beth Kuester stay strong and injury free?

"You have to be physically fit," Kuester said. "I do kickboxing. I do weightlifting. I used to go to a gym, until COVID. I have a gym at the house now. ... You have to build muscle and endurance."

Kuester said she also stays active in her day-to-day activities, living with her sister in a large three-story house in Antigo. She takes her three dogs for regular walks. She walks to get a massage in downtown Antigo. Occasionally she'll even run, like the time she signed up for a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) race in Antigo.

She could have chosen the shorter 5K, but that race didn't have age divisions. If she jumped into the 10K, she knew she would win her age division. The race is called the Tater Trot and "they have these gorgeous little trophies that are little ceramic potato men," Kuester said. "I thought, well, I want that trophy."

She won it.

What does Mary Beth Kuester do in the summer?

Kuester owns four horses which are stabled and trained in Florida. She rides them and competes in dressage contests. Kuester loves those animals, dotes on them and rides as much as she can when she is with them.

Riding the horses, she said, helps her in skiing, and vice versa.

"It's a physical fitness, it's an awareness of your body," Kuester said. "You have to be aware of your body. The difference is that it's not just you. It's with an animal. You have to be in partnership with a horse. Skiing, you're on your own. So skiing is really easier, in my opinion, because it's just you."

What advice does Mary Beth Kuester give to people who want to be active into their 80s?

"Well, I think that's the thing," Kuester said. "Staying active, not stopping. I'm always looking for ways to do more."

It doesn't hurt to also nurture a competitive drive.

"Competition, that's what keeps me going," Kuester said. "I push constantly."

Keith Uhlig is a regional features reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin based in Wausau. Contact him at 715-845-0651 or kuhlig@gannett.com. Follow him at @UhligK on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram or on Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Antigo's Mary Beth Kuester is 85 and still competes in alpine ski races