Arthur Gilbert (1921 – 23 October 2015) was an English

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...

competitor who came to notice in 2012 as the world's oldest

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the d ...

Earlier life

Gilbert was born in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, Hampshire in 1921. He was a veteran of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He became a helicopter engineer at

Westland Helicopters Westland Helicopters was a British aircraft manufacturer. Originally Westland Aircraft, the company focused on helicopters after the Second World War. It was amalgamated with several other British firms in 1960 and 1961. In 2000, it merged w ...

in Somerset and used to cycle the 20-mile

journey to work Journey to work is data collected as part of a census that describes aspects of commuting behaviour. Travel survey, Travel behaviour surveys may also describe commuting habits, but this is rarely considered to be a journey to work. Data collected ...

Triathlon

Gilbert began running competitively in the 1970s and first competed in a triathlon when he was 64 years old. 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. He was awarded the

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

, presented by

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

in 2008, for his charity fundraising. 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. In December 2011 the ''World Record Academy'' confirmed the 90-year-old was also the oldest triathlete in the world. In May 2012 he was an Olympic torchbearer and jogged the 300-metre stretch through

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National P ...

, Somerset. As a local celebrity, in July he opened a new

care home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...

, Kingfisher Lodge, in nearby

Saltford Saltford is a large English village and civil parish in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset. It lies between the cities of Bristol and Bath, and adjoins Keynsham on the same route. Saltford Manor House (built about 116 ...

. 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. "It was really tough. As the years go by it gets harder and harder, you do go backwards as you get older," he commented. He was fortunate with injuries, his only major problem being a ruptured ankle tendon which he incurred in the mid-1990s. After completing another Burnham Triathlon in April 2013, Gilbert suggested it would be his last, preferring to help marshal the Burnham event in 2014.

Personal life

Gilbert lived in

Burnham-on-Sea Burnham-on-Sea is a seaside town in Somerset, England, at the mouth of the River Parrett, upon Bridgwater Bay. Burnham was a small fishing village until the late 18th century when it began to grow because of its popularity as a seaside resort. ...

, Somerset. 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. He attributed his abilities to a stress-free life, eating bananas and regularly giving blood. He died on 23 October 2015 aged 94.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Arthur 1921 births People from Burnham-on-Sea English male triathletes 2015 deaths Members of the Order of the British Empire British military personnel of World War II