Britain’s Linda Ashmore won the women’s 75-79 age group championship at the 2022 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships. The eldest woman in the championship race finished with a time of 7 hours, 21 minutes, and 22 seconds! The race took place in St. George, Utah.
Linda’s morning began with a chilly 1.2-mile swim in the reservoir at Sand Hollow State Park in Hurricane. She then cycled 56 miles on a hilly bike course that included final steep climb in Snow Canyon State Park. That led to a fast downhill finish on the bike into the historic downtown of St. George. She then transitioned to the half marathon comprised of a two-lap course.
Unfortunately, American Pauline Higgins missed the 8 hour, 30 minute cut-off for an official finish. She crossed the finish line in 8 hours, 44 minutes, and 56 seconds.
According to Linda’s profile on Instagram, she is also an IRONMAN World Champion, women’s 70-74 (2017), and the oldest woman to swim the English Channel!
Yes, We Can Do This!
Now why am I sharing Linda’s astonishing achievement (and a bit of her background) with our Slowpoke Divas community? How does this athlete fit into our group of women who are focused on the fun of fitness, and not having to achieve impressive athletic ability? Because Linda enjoys an active lifestyle so much that she set goals, did the work, faced fears and doubts (as all humans do!), and stepped beyond her comfort zone. Something we all can do as well!
Start where you’re at today. Then do it again tomorrow. Do a little bit more the day after that. Take a day to rest and reflect. What can you do more of? What seems to need a bit more attention? Then do it again. Rinse and repeat.
Remember, you’ve never failed. You don’t start over. You learn and make a new start.
