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Peggy Crome is an 80-year-old great grand-mother from Devon, who has been taking part in triathlons for 38 years and has represented the Great Britain age-group triathlon team 50 times. With 31 podiums and 17 victories, she is one of the most successful age-group triathletes in the world.<\/strong> Over to Peggy\u2026<\/strong><\/p> I am a proud Devonshire Dumpling<\/strong>, a title only claimed by those having both parents born in Devon. I was one of seven children brought up on a farm near Chulmleigh, Devon.<\/p> I have worked all my life<\/strong>. I taught Maths and PE in Tottenham and moved back to Devon in 1970 where I taught children with little or no sight, in Exeter. After retiring, I moved to Westward Ho!, my favourite north Devon village.<\/p> I have represented GB 50 times with 31 podium finishes<\/strong>, of which 17 have been gold [Ed: putting Peggy in the top 10 in the world for the most appearances, and the leading British woman for golds]. I also won the female veteran title in the Europeans in Milton Keynes in 1987, before the records began.<\/p> I first got involved in triathlon in 1985<\/strong>. Having smoked for over 20 years, I gave up smoking in 1982 and started to jog. In the beginning, I couldn\u2019t run more than 100m without stopping for a rest.<\/p> In the early 80s I managed to achieve a good endurance base<\/strong> and ran many marathons and half marathons. When triathlon first came to Great Britain, I was ready for a new challenge. <\/p> My first triathlon was in Barnstaple in 1985<\/strong>: a one-mile swim, 26-mile cycle and a 10-mile run. There were 57 men and just me and one other woman taking part. How women\u2019s triathlon has progressed from those early days.<\/p> “I plan to continue taking part in triathlon until I am the last to finish in a race”<\/p><\/blockquote> My favourite race experience<\/strong> was winning my age-group in the Ironman 70.3 <\/a><\/strong>in Aix-en-Provence in 2015 to qualify for the 70.3 world championship, because earlier that year I broke my arm and had to train around it. I stuck a picture of Chrissie Wellington<\/a><\/strong> on the wall, she was training with a similar injury, which encouraged me to carry on.<\/p> The thing I love most about triathlon is the camaraderie of the GB team<\/strong>. Everyone is so helpful and friendly. We help each other through the tough times when things don\u2019t go to plan. I love the massive support we get when we manage to podium.<\/p> My secret to having longevity in the sport<\/strong> is that we are age-groupers and there is always another age-group waiting for us. I love the fact that, at 80, I can still compete and represent my country. Everyone needs something to get up for in the morning and for me it is to swim, bike or run. <\/p> I also feel more mentally alert<\/strong> and can deal with the everyday problems that life throws at us. I plan to continue taking part in triathlon until I am the last to finish in a race.<\/p> Outside of triathlon<\/strong>, I like to spend my time solving cryptic crosswords, sudokus, re-learning French, painting and creating models with stained glass on driftwood.<\/p>