Nutley triathlete, 75, proud to represent Great Britain

A 75-year-old woman said she was proud to represent Great Britain after competing in an international triathlon event.

Annie Sidgwick finished third in the 75 to 79 age category in the female sprint distance triathlon at the Asia and Europe Triathlon Age-Group Championships in Istanbul on Saturday.

The pensioner, from Nutley in East Sussex, completed the 750m swim, 20km cycle and 5.15km run in about two hours and 35 minutes.

“I just enjoy it. And unless you enjoy it, you cannot do it,” she said.

Ms Sidgwick began running aged 55 after talking to a friend, who was a personal trainer.

“We ran for three minutes, and I just was so thrilled that no arms or legs fell off, and I was bright red in the face, and I loved it,” she said.

She started running regularly in addition to her existing swimming, before the same friend later encouraged her to start cycling on her “big, old, iron bike”.

Ms Sidgwick said she completed her first triathlon aged 58 in East Grinstead.

After watching the triathlon at the London 2012 Olympics, she noticed a World Triathlon Championship Series event would take place in the capital the following year and thought, “I have to do this”, she said.

Since then, she has represented Great Britian.

Ms Sidgwick added that putting on her country’s kit for the first time was “very emotional”.

The triathlete, who trains six days per week, said the Istanbul event was her greatest sporting feat.

“It was so complex in all sorts of ways,” she said.

Ms Sidgwick plans to take part in a local event on Sunday before “going away on a proper restful holiday”.

She added: “You have to think about what I want to do next year, whether I want to continue the training regime or whether I want to take a step back, and that’s a decision I have to make.”