George Somlo aged 63 took up the sport three years ago and will make his debut for the Great Britain Age-Group Team competing in the 65-69 age-group at the ITU Standard Distance Age-Group World Championships. 

 

What is your job?

I am in the antique business, but especially antique watches, and I have a shop in the Burlington Arcade in London. 

 

How do you balance work/family life and training?

I get up very early in the mornings, five o'clock every day so I can train and still be in my shop by between nine and 10 o'clock. It is a bit of a balance. A lot of people in my age-group have already retired but unfortunately I haven't. It can be a bit of an effort to do it but I am thoroughly enjoying it.

 

When and why did you get into triathlon? 

I belong to a gym and one of the trainers I use started training triathletes and he persuaded me to get involved. The first time I did one it was for charity and it was really to see if I could actually do one, because I couldn't swim. So I really started to swim two and a half years ago. The first triathlon I did was the Blenheim Palace Sprint Triathlon, then I did the Virgin Active London Triathlon. By then I had got the bug and now I'm in my third year. I just wish I had started many years earlier rather than waiting until I was 63, but better late than never.

 

What other sports did you participate in before triathlon?

I've been going to the gym for many years and I did a couple of London Marathons in the 1990s. So I've always kept fit but I didn't compete in any sport.

 

Which other triathletes have inspired you, and why?

I get most of the triathlon magazines and read the stories about triathletes and so many of them are inspiring. Chrissie Wellington, in particular, is one. The age groupers all inspire me now I realise how hard the sport is, and then you look at the Brownlees at the Olympics and you cannot help but be inspired. It is a very inspiring sport.

 

What made you compete for GB? How does it make you feel?

I qualified at the British Triathlon Championships in Liverpool. Last year, when I did the Virgin Active London Triathlon, I improved my time by about half an hour, so my trainer said that with a little bit of extra training maybe I could get into the GB Age-Group team.

 

So that became the whole purpose of my year. I didn't think I would be able to do it so I was incredibly excited when I got the call. I was more than over the moon and very proud to be able to represent GB. It was a special moment, too, when I got my kit and had my name put on it. Just putting the kit on makes you feel on top of the world. I've always been pretty patriotic and a sports enthusiast, not that I've done much but I've always followed it, so to be part of it is a huge feather in my cap.

 

The whole thing for me was always just to qualify, but now that I have my place, I am putting in additional training because I would like to get a medal. But I doubt if I will because most of the athletes representing GB have done so many times before and have been doing it far longer than I have.

 

How would home support help you in London?

 

I live in central London so I swim in the Serpentine and run in Hyde Park when I am training. That is why I was really keen to get into the race. I went to the Olympics and watched a number of different events and I saw what the home support did to the athletes. It certainly adds 10% to your performance.

 

Alongside the age-group events the PruHealth World Triathlon Grand Final London will also host elite, junior and paratriathlon events. The find out more about watching the elite events, download the spectator map here.