Peggy Crome, 80, is quite simply a legend of age-group triathlon. Here’s why…
WHY I TRI
I am a proud Devonshire Dumpling,a title only claimed by those having both parents born in Devon. I was one of seven children brought up on a farm near Chulmleigh, Devon.
I have worked all my life. I taught
Maths and PE in Tottenham and moved back to Devon in 1970 where I taught children with little or no sight, in Exeter. After retiring, I moved to Westward Ho!, my favourite north Devon village.
I have represented GB 50times with 31 podium finishes, of which 17 have been gold [Ed: putting Peggy in the top 10 in the world for the most appearances, and the leading British woman for golds]. I also won the female veteran title in the Europeans in Milton Keynes in 1987, before the records began.
I first got involved in triathlon in
1985. Having smoked for over 20 years, I gave up smoking in 1982 and started to jog. In the beginning, I couldn’t run more than 100m without stopping for a rest.
In the early 80s I managed toachieve a good endurance base and ran many marathons and half marathons. When triathlon first came to Great Britain, I was ready for a new challenge. My first triathlon was in Barnstaple in 1985: a one-mile swim, 26-mile cycle and a 10-mile run. There were 57 men and just me and one other woman taking part. How women’s triathlon has progressed from those early days.
My favourite race experience was winning my age-group in the Ironman 70.3 in Aix-en-Provence in 2015 to qualify for the 70.3 world championship, because earlier that year I broke my arm and had to train around it. I stuck a picture of Chrissie Wellington on the wall, she was training with a similar injury, which encouraged me to carry on.
The thing I love most abouttriathlon is the camaraderie of the GB team. Everyone is so helpful and friendly. We help each other through the tough times when things don’t go
