Performances of the Year: Ageless Wonders

We celebrate the amazing age group performances of three athletes who are proving you don’t have to slow down as you age up: Jim Stewart, Lynda Lemon and John Anthony Marriott.

After a runner-up finish at the ITU long distance worlds in 2014, Jim Stewart did things one better in 2015 with an impressive win in the men’s 60 to 64 category, the only gold medal Canada earned at this year’s long course worlds.

A former soccer player who was always a “casual runner,” Jim Stewart eventually gravitated to triathlon and has, in his 60s, become a force to be reckoned with. The Surrey, B.C. native took the world title in 6:39:55. A little over a month later Stewart finished sixth at the Ironman 70.3 worlds in Zell am See-Kaprun.

Lynda Lemon has been a mainstay on the triathlon scene in Ontario for years. The 71-year-old from Welland, Ont. won her age group in Adelaide at the ITU World Duathlon Championships by a whopping 28 minutes. Lemon competed in her first world championship in 1994 and has won seven world medals in triathlon and duathlon since she turned 65,

including two other gold medals.

Also competing in Adelaide was John Anthony Marriott, who took the silver medal in the men’s 80 to 84 category in the sprint event. The Millgrove, Ont. resident is another regular on the Ontario tri scene who added this silver medal to the silver he took in 2011 at the world sprint championships in Beijing, and the bronze medal he earned as a “youngster” at the 2005 world championships in the 70 to 74 category.