85-year-old Arthur Duncan does it again, wins South African National Road and Individual Time Trial Championships!
Mpumalanga, South Africa (25 February 2020) – 85-year-old Arthur Duncan, known for starting his cycling career after retirement and taking on gruelling road and mountain bike races in his eighties, has done it again, winning the South African National Road and Individual Time Trial championships in his age category 85 to 89.
The championships took place from 5 – 9 February in Mpumalanga.
“I am absolutely thrilled with my results, and it is a confidence booster knowing that the early rising and long hours of training gave me the physical and mental strength to get through the challenging terrain and high temperatures we raced in.”
Duncan decided at the age of 65 that he was going to cycle from the sea to the highest peak in Southern Africa, Thabana Ntlenyana in Lesotho. The three-day ride had him hooked, and he has become a multiple national champion in both road cycling and time trial in his age category. He has represented South Africa in road cycling and went to the UCI Road World Championships last year.
Not satisfied with being an accomplished cyclist in his retirement, Arthur took on the FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon when he was 72, and at the age of 77, he did a second Dusi as the oldest competitor that year.
Since then he has done the KAP sani2c, a 263km mountain bike stage race from Underberg to Scottburgh, 8 times, including last year at the age of 84.
Passion, discipline and commitment are needed in his daily schedule, he says, and his diet and training require consistency throughout the year.
A big motivator for Arthur is using his participation in sport to inspire others: “My goal is to help others to realise that age should not be viewed as a barrier to stop you enjoying sporting activities in your senior years. Unfortunately, biological ageing is taking place in every one of us, but we can personally slow it down,” he says.
“I have discovered and have applied certain protocols that have done that for me, and they have changed my life. As a result of this ageing process, false barriers have been set in place and endorsed by society. I am breaking through these barriers and testing new ones to push through. I hope in some way I may have challenged, encouraged or inspired someone to take personal control of their health and fitness.”
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