Meet the 80yo triathlete twins leaving us all in their wake
We’ve all heard the stories of twins who share experiences. They can be separated by miles and still think and feel the same thing at the same time. So it is with Frank and Keith Pearce.
Born in Birmingham in 1936, the boys knew trauma from a young age. They lost their mother when they were just 7 months old. Keith says they have no recollection of her and their father was sent away to war so the boys were raised by their aunt until they were 10 before being sent to Rhodesia.
Both boys suffered with dyslexia, although that wasn’t a recognised condition at the time and the boys were considered slow learners and they were “shoved into a slow learner’s class” as Keith recalls.
What nobody knew though, even the boys themselves, was that they could run… and run... and run.
And they’re still running, competing as twin 80yo triathletes!
Keith says running and sport became their salvation and earnt the boys the respect of their peers. Frank was born a few hours earlier than Keith and was stronger and faster but Keith fondly recalls “I could peg him back over time”.
I was surprised to find that Frank and Keith don’t live close to each other, Frank is on Sydney’s lower north shore and Keith resides at Forster on the NSW mid-coast. They don’t see each other as often as they would like but they remain close.
Despite bringing home a swathe of medals last October from the ITU World Triathlon Championships in Mexico, Keith says he is itching to get out and train again. He told me “the ITU Championships are on in 2018 on the Gold Coast and we’re aiming for that”.
It’s extraordinary to comprehend that an 80 year old could still be competing, let alone two 80 year olds!
As we start a new year maybe this story is all the encouragement you need to get out and get those legs moving…. I know I will be!
