World's oldest triathlete completes 41st race at 91
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Arthur Gilbert, from England, has defied his years to become the world's oldest triathlete.
The energetic grandfather, who carried the Olympic Torch through Minehead, Somerset, last month, has taken part in the events which involve swimming, cycling and running.
The former helicopter engineer raced through his home town's Burnham Sprint Triathlon on Sunday, despite suffering from a hamstring injury.
Gilbert completed a 500 metre swim, followed by a 20km bike ride and then a 5 km run, sprinting past the finish line in 2 hours, 47 minutes and 22 seconds.
It took the pensioner 31 minutes and 54 seconds to complete the swim, one hour 11 minutes and eight seconds to cycle the 20km and 59 minutes and 20 seconds to run 5km.
Gilbert's rigorous training regime includes going to the gym two times a week, cycling 25 miles every Sunday and swimming 50 lengths of his local pool every morning.
"It was really tough. As the years go by it gets harder and harder, you do go backwards as you get older," the Telegraph quoted him as saying after the race.
"But you have to do it before you get too old. We had lovely weather, it just about stayed nice for the event, and the crowds were so supportive."
"I had been training for a triathlon back in April, which was smaller distances, but we had the most terrible storm and it was cancelled."
"So it was back to training for this one, which was really hard because it was much longer distances," he said.
Gilbert is a veteran of the Second World War has worked at the Westland helicopter plant and was handed the title of the world's oldest triathlete in December last year by The World Records Academy, after having completed his 40th triathlon.
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