2019-06-01_220_Triathlon

20 / /June 2019

After 30 yearsin triathlon,DaphneBelt

isn’tslowingdown.Notwhenshehas 16

races to do to mark turning 80 this year

Nearly 30 yearsago,I hit50.

My40thbirthdaywentbyandI

didn’tmindthatsomuch,but 50 I

didn’tlike,somyhusbandandI

joineda gym.Welosta bitofweight

andstartedrunning,andmyfriend

boughta copyof 220 Triathlonand

wesawaneventinthebackofthe

magazine.TheonlythingI had to

learntodowasfrontcrawl.

I didanaquathlon,enjoyedit,

andnoonelaughedatmebecause

I wasanoldbirdat 50 – theywere

allreallyencouragingsoI carried

on.Whateverageyouare,you

don’tthink 30 years on you’ll

stillbedoingit.

MyhusbandandI startedoffa bit

tooenthusiasticallyandwedida

triathlonnearlyeveryweekend.

It wasa bitmad- wedidthatfor

severalyears.Lookingatmyrace

programmeforthisyear,thereare

16 thingsonit butthey’renotall

triathlons,asI’mtrying to keep

it a bitmorevaried.

MybigracesareIronman70.3

inHaugesund,Norway,theIsle

ofWighttwo-milePiertoPier

swim,andtheITUWorldAG

Olympic-distanceChampsin

Lausanne at the end of August.

Myfirstworldchampionshipwin

wastheITUlongdistanceinNice

in1995.Triathlonwasa bitmore

casualbackthen,especiallywith

therules,buteverythingand

everyonehasimprovedalongthe

way.I don’tdothatsortofdistance

anymore,butif you’vegotthatin

thebankyoucangenerally pull it

outanytimeyouwant.

Thehardestraceofthemallis

Kona,Hawaii.Youwatchit onTV

andthink‘whyisit soawesome?’

butwiththeheatandthewindand

thehumidity,it’squiteanother

animal.I’vedoneKonathreetimes,

andthebestwasthirdinmyage-

group,whichwouldbearoundthe

year 2000. I also did the inaugural

70.3WorldChampionship in

Floridain2006.

Formy75thbirthdayin 2014 I

cameupwith 75 triathlonsin 75

days.I wouldswiminthepool,ride

a 12-mileloopandcomebackfora

5kmrun.AsI startedit gotharder,

buttheninthelastfewweeksI

improved– fractionallyfaster– but

at 75 youdon’tbecomeUsainBolt.

Inthelast 30 yearsit’sjustgone

onandon– a lotofpeopledon’tget

thatfarbecausetheythink‘that’s

enough’ortheygetaninjuryand

stop.Butthathasn’thappenedfor

me.I’ma bitobsessive– I’llhelp

others.If anyoneasksmefor

supporttheymaylivetoregretit

becauseI encourageasmuchasI

can.Seeingsomeonedowellmakes

mehappierthananythingelse.

I’mhappywitheverythingI’ve

achieved.I’mnotpot-hunting.

I’menjoyingmyselfandit’spart

ofmylife.Hastriathlonchanged

me? Yes. Completely.

why

i tri

DAPHNE

BELT

Cominguptoher

80thbirthday,

DaphneBeltis

celebrating 30

yearsin triathlon.

She’swonnineITU

WorldAGChamps

andfiveEuropean

AGChamps.She’s

alsocompetedin

boththe70.3and

IronmanWorld

Championshipin

Kona,Hawaii.She

ownsanantiques

businessin Sussex

withherhusband

andfundraisesfor

ChestnutTree

Housechildren’s

hospice(justgiving.

com/fundraising/

Daphne-Belt).

“The hardest

race of them all

is Kona. I’ve done

it three times”

“I’M NOT

READY TO

STOP YET”