British octogenarians win World Triathlon medals and vow to keep competing
Five British athletes in their 80s won medals in the 80-84 category at the World Triathlon Championships in Spain, led by Mike Smallwood.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Five British athletes in their eighties won medals in the 80-84 category at the World Triathlon Championship finals in Spain last week.
Mike Smallwood led the British group. He won his 31st gold medal and 51st podium spot at the championships, and he is about to celebrate his 80th birthday. He is already preparing for his next event in Abu Dhabi next month. Smallwood said he likes the exercise and the training and sees no reason to stop. He added that his wife has had enough until he is in the ground. He plans to keep training and competing into his 90s and beyond.
Jennifer Peel took gold in the group. Peggy Crome took silver. Crome had just become the oldest woman ever to cycle from John O'Groats to Land's End. She has represented Great Britain in triathlon 61 times, with 40 podium finishes and 25 gold medals. She said the sport gives her something to get up for in the morning. She now takes one day of rest a week, and may need two as she gets older.
Bob Rogers won silver and Douglas Wood won bronze. Both said Smallwood inspires them to work harder. One competitor described him as head and shoulders ahead of everyone else of their age and a benchmark, but also an inspiration. Another said his achievements are a challenge, adding: 'I like a challenge. I say, good, good. Bring it on.'
The World Triathlon Championship finals were held in Spain last week. The British results came in the over-80s classification.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Five British octogenarian athletes, including Mike Smallwood, Jennifer Peel and Peggy Crome, reached the 80-84 podium at the World Triathlon Championships in Spain. | |
| Peggy Crome became the oldest woman to cycle from John O'Groats to Land's End. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV1 covered the story in both its Evening News and News at Ten bulletins, using the same human interest report. The focus was on British success in the over-80s category, with Mike Smallwood's medal tally and plans to keep competing as the main hook. The tone was warm and admiring, ending with presenters praising the athletes.
- “I like doing what I do. I like the exercise. I like the training. I don't see any reason why it should stop.”
- “She's had enough until I'm in the ground.”
- “He's so head and shoulders ahead of everyone else of our age that he's just a benchmark, and we don't need to regard ourselves as competing against him. But he is an inspiration.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.