Woman who learned to swim at 57 now a defending Ironman triathlon champion
An invitation to participate in an indoor triathlon 16 years ago changed the course of Bobbe Greenberg's life.
The 73-year-old Highland Park, Illinois, resident was intrigued by the idea of an indoor triathlon, but had to overcome one major obstacle in order to take part: she had to learn how to swim. So, at 57, she started taking lessons. Greenberg ended up winning first place in the indoor triathlon, and caught the bug. She now trains at least 15 hours every week, and races as often as possible during the spring and summer.
This weekend, the retired English teacher will be in Hawaii for the Ironman World Championship triathlon, where she expects to finish swimming 2.4 miles in the ocean, riding a bike for 112 miles, and running a marathon in 14 or 15 hours. She is the defending women's age 70-74 champion, and told The Washington Post the entire process is "exhilarating. I think it's that feeling of youthfulness or vibrancy ... There's something it gives to me that I'm not able to get in any other way in my life."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Senegal's Bassirou Diomaye Faye: from prison to Africa's youngest elected leader
Why everyone's talking about The 44-year-old has resonated with young people by promising to shake up the establishment and enact economic reforms
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
How social media is limiting political content
The Explainer Critics say Meta's 'extraordinary move' to have less politics in users' feeds could be 'actively muzzling civic action'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Unthinkable tragedy'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published