A SUPER-FIT senior Eggesford woman has qualified for the World Ironman 70.3 triathlon in Austria in August.

Peggy Crome (72), returned from the Aix-en-Provence Ironman 70.3 competition held in France with the qualification, a trophy and medal after completing the triathlon in eight hours and 24 minutes.

Peggy swam an amazing 1.2 miles, cycled 56 miles and ran a half marathon (13.1 miles), which all adds up to the 70.3.

While she was the only person in her age group at the qualifier, she still had to finish in under 8.5 hours and she only had six minutes spare!

Peggy explained: "I broke my arm in January and wasn't able to train or prepare as much as I would have liked but I was really pleased to finish.

"Because I hadn't done much training because of my arm being in plaster, my muscle strength was still low.

"I found it difficult swimming because my strength was low and also I had to really pull on the handlebars on the bike on the hills. Gear changes were difficult as well."

Peggy competes in the 70plus category and has many world and European triathlete titles under her belt.

She has now begun training hard for the World's, which she describes as "a whole new ball game".

THANKS

She particularly thanks a friend from Edinburgh who coaches her and advises on her training and also extends special thanks to The Bike Shed in Crediton and the Lords Meadow Leisure Centre for their support and assistance.

"The Bike Shed have been very good to me and help a lot with my bike and I do most of my swim training at Lords Meadow Leisure Centre, thanks to the staff at both and to Mid Devon District Council.

Peggy has represented Great Britain, winning numerous World and European titles over the years.

In 2012 at the European Championships in Israel she claimed gold in the women's 65 to 69 years sprint and last year she took part in the World Aquathon and World Triathlon Championships held in London on the same course as the Olympics.

She achieved a Gold medal in the World Aquathon and a Silver medal in the World Triathlon Championships.

The former British female age-group triathlete of the year completed a 1,000 metre swim and 5k run as part of the World Aquathon event.

She competed in the World Aquathlon and Triathlon Championships in Edmonton, Canada, returning with a silver in the Aquathlon and a bronze in the Triathlon.

Last year she became a European Champion when she earned the gold medal in the women's 70-74 age group at the ETU Triathlon European Championships in Kitzbühel, Austria.

She completed the 750m swim in 19-16, the 19.7km bike section in 1-07-12 and the 4.8km run in 35-19.

Peggy went one better than 2013 when she won the age-group silver medal in Turkey. She won the 65-69 years gold in Israel three years ago.

Alan Quick