An 80-year-old grandmother from Toxteth has become a world champion triathlon winner and says sport is the only way of staying OK into old age. Jenny Peel, who has a lifelong stammer, used athletics to overcome the condition and was crowned winner of the Sprint Triathlon Championship for her age group on Thursday, September 24.
Despite a cancelled flight and having just hours of sleep the night before, she lined up against competitors from around the world in the same age bracket and came out triumphant. While she has competed in dozens of competitions over the years, Jenny explained that the gruelling races pale in comparison to the daily struggles she faces with her disability.
A lifelong struggle with a stammer
Jenny told the ECHO: "I have a stammer. It causes me to feel embarrassed, withdrawn, not wanting to take part socially, and basically disappear." She described her school years as a nightmare, recalling: "In school it was a nightmare because we'd do things like reading in class and you'd have a page to read, and I'd watch it getting closer and closer to my time to read, but, of course, I couldn't do it."
She added: "It was absolutely awful. It was a nightmare. Then there's times in school when you're asked your name, and I couldn't say it, which was acutely embarrassing." Treatment did not help, she said: "I think I went for treatment, but the treatment didn't do anything. It's still a very difficult problem to cope with. I think the current thinking is that they encourage people to sort of push through and embrace the fact that they have a stammer, but it's not that easy. I mean, it's embarrassing. It makes you appear stupid, as if you don't know what you're talking about or what the answer is."
Sport as a form of expression
As Jenny approached the end of primary school, she took an interest in sports and it changed everything, finally allowing her to express herself. She said: "When I got into sport you don't have to talk all that much because it is active, and you can develop friendships based on the sport, which somehow are less hard. It's an area in which I can be a bit freer, enjoy myself more, and express my ambitions."
After university, sport became an integral part of her life. She taught PE in schools across the Wirral before lecturing in the subject at Liverpool John Moores University for 28 years. More recently, she has volunteered on a rapid response team providing psychosocial support with the Red Cross and currently works as a psychotherapist in a private practice based in Liverpool.
Proudest achievement and plans to stay strong
Despite a long and successful career, her proudest achievement came last week when she won the triathlon. Jenny said: "I was almost in tears. It was an amazing moment to be world champion. I knew I was in the lead for most of the race, but things can go wrong. And then when you cross the line and you're absolutely exhausted, and someone tells you you're world champion, it's a fantastic moment."
She has no intention of slowing down, adding: "At the age of 80, the task is to remain strong and fit. It's the only way of staying OK. Otherwise, you're threatened with dementia, inability, serious illness. But, staying in sport in a really serious way, which I'm extremely serious about, guards against all of that. But it's not easy, because you're old, you have aches, pains and sore joints. It gets harder."
Reflecting on her journey, she said: "I would tell my younger self that you might have a stammer, but you've also got other qualities. It's just part of who you are."
