Pensioner couple, 76, representing Great Britain Age-Group Team, set for triathlon championships

Hill Head pensioners Sandra and David Abrams, both 76, first got involved in triathlon after they both retired from work and wanted to find something else to do alongside their passion for windsurfing. ‘I had prostate cancer the year we retired, and Sandra had breast cancer only a couple of years before that, but for us it was the start,’ David said.

SEE ALSO: Spinnaker Tower lit up

‘We were keen windsurfers, but we were also running and cycling, and we would also go for a swim. We found that windsurfing didn’t have the same magic as the running and the swimming had, so we started to want to give triathlon a try, so we did.’

That would be the start of their passion for triathlon which has taken them all around the world, and for Sandra onto multiple World and European Championship podiums including three European golds and the honour of becoming world champion in her age group in 2016.

‘What we really like and what we find really interesting is being able to see and experience all the different countries we get to race in and the way the different countries approach the organisation of the events,’ Sandra said.

‘We have so many memories together, but Mexico in 2016 was very special. I remember we were sitting in a beach café having post-race coffee and because of the problems with the currents on the swim no one knew where anyone had finished. We were sat there having coffee and our friend Rachel Bown looked at her phone and said, “we’ve got two world champions sitting here”. I was one of them and the other was an Australian athlete who was sitting with us. That was honestly one of those ‘wow’ moments because I didn’t expect it.’

The couple, who are both age 76, celebrated their golden wedding year in 2018 by travelling to race on the Gold Coast at the World Championships. Abu Dhabi is a new location for Sandra and David who will both race in the 75-79 age group when they represent the GB Age-Group Team at the World Age-Group Championships over the standard distance (1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run).

‘It’s nice because we’ve got a group of us going out there,’ Sandra said. ‘This one in particular was really exciting when we were qualifying for Abu Dhabi because after Covid it was our first qualifiers back. We formed a little support group, so the event has been something we’ve been talking about and looking forward to for a while now.

‘It’s nice to still be able to achieve something physically. The fact we are in our mid-70s now and we’re still doing something like this is very satisfying. We’ve also made a lot of good friends through triathlon and being part of the Age-Group Team.

‘We’ve seen quite a few places in the world, and I think that has been really interesting. This sport really has taken us around the world and we’re looking forward to our next destination.’

Find out more on the British Triathlon website here.