Arthur Gilbert MBE (1921 – 23 October 2015) was an English triathlon competitor who came to notice in 2012 as the world's oldest triathlete.
Earlier life
Gilbert was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire in 1921.[1][2]
He was a veteran of World War II.[3] He became a helicopter engineer at Westland Helicopters in Somerset[4] and used to cycle the 20-mile journey to work.[5]
Triathlon
Gilbert began running competitively in the 1970s and first competed in a triathlon when he was 64 years old.[6] He subsequently competed in over 40 multi-event races. His training regime included 50 lengths of his local swimming pool every day, 3 visits to the gym each week and 25 km on a bicycle on Sundays.[4]
He was awarded the MBE, presented by Prince Charles in 2008, for his charity fundraising.[4]
Gilbert became Britain's oldest triathlete aged 90, when he completed the Burnham-on-Sea Triathlon in April 2011. His time was 1 hour 20 minutes and nine seconds.[7] In December 2011 the World Record Academy confirmed the 90-year-old was also the oldest triathlete in the world.[8]
In May 2012 he was an Olympic torchbearer and jogged the 300-metre stretch through Minehead, Somerset.[9] As a local celebrity, in July he opened a new care home, Kingfisher Lodge, in nearby Saltford.[5]
Gilbert competed in his 41st triathlon, the Burnham Sprint Triathlon, in early June 2012. It involved a 500-metre swim, 20 km bike ride and a 5 km run. The swim took 31 minutes and 54 seconds, one hour 11 minutes and 8 seconds for the cycling phase and 59 minutes and 20 seconds for the run.[3] "It was really tough. As the years go by it gets harder and harder, you do go backwards as you get older," he commented.[3]
He was fortunate with injuries, his only major problem being a ruptured ankle tendon which he incurred in the mid-1990s.[2]
After completing another Burnham Triathlon in April 2013, Gilbert suggested it would be his last, preferring to help marshal the Burnham event in 2014.[10]
Personal life
Gilbert lived in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset.[9] His wife died in 2009 and his son died in the same year, aged only 55. Gilbert said his sports activities helped him through these losses.[4] He attributed his abilities to a stress-free life, eating bananas and regularly giving blood.[1]