Veteran Eden triathlete Stuart Robinson has become a double British age group champion after taking on a fresh lease of life.
Stuart, of Appleby, is a well decorated athlete, having won previous British titles along with a world silver and world bronze. His medal collection also includes two European bronzes, a silver and three golds.
“The last of those was probably my most memorable/proudest, getting the European title in 2017 in Kitzbuhel, Austria,” he said. “But there have been many memorable and personal moments outside of the major championships.”
In late 2019, Stuart intended to take a break and then recalls that “the whole world did, too”. He kept himself fit and continues to coach up and coming youngsters attached to the Ullswater Junior Tri Club.
And after what he called two “weird” years, the lure of elite competition came again in 2022. “I’m 60 this year and into a new age group (60-64). You just get a fresh lease of life, young again at the start of a new age group and it just appeals to me to have a bash at a few big things,” he said.
Stuart first won the Majorca Olympic triathlon age group event, claiming an overall top 20 place into the bargain.
He then won a first British age group title for several years over the standard triathlon distance (1,500m swim, 40km bike and 10km run) at the Leeds triathlon — ”that was a hard event, hilly”, he said; before national success at the double came at the sprint distance championships in Cardiff.
“I’ve just been getting stuck back into training as best I could,” he said. “Swimming pools are still a little bit restricted. I’m training mostly solo but I’ve got one or two training buddies, just getting myself fit. I know what I’m doing, entering what I need to. The world championships later in the year, in Abu Dhabi, is the big goal.
“I’m happy, encouraged that the old body can still crank it round! You do stuff like parkrun and odd training events; you know what you can do and what you can’t. But you don’t know until you put yourself in a championship event what everybody else is doing; you don’t know your opposition. You know that you go OK yourself — but is that good enough? You’ve always got those doubts.
“Everyone has still got the same idea — everyone who is going up an age group also wants a crack at it.”
