Brian Parkinson was overcome with emotion as he crossed the finish line in Penticton.

The 91原创 resident had just topped the 75-79 male sprint duathlon race at the 2017 Penticton ITU Multi-Sport World Championships.

During the Aug. 19 race, Parkinson edged out second place finisher, Australian Ross Salmon, in a nine-athlete field that also included six Americans and one Japanese entrant.

鈥淚 was overwhelmed,鈥� Parkinson said. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 believe that I won a world championship.鈥�

Parkinson, who turns 75 in October, was the lone Canadian in his division.

The duathlon featured a five-kilometre run, 20-kilometre bike ride, and 2.5-kilometre run.

鈥淚t was hillier than anybody ever expected,鈥� Parkinson said. 鈥淚t was two trips up all the Vancouver Hills, so nobody expected that.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know there was going to be any hills. I didn鈥檛 know where we were going to be cycling.鈥�

Dogged perseverance drove Parkinson to victory 鈥� especially since his opening run which he did in 29:34, was, in Parkinson鈥檚 words, 鈥渁ppallingly slow.鈥�

鈥淚 was fifth out of the first five guys (after) the first run,鈥� Parkinson said.

But he made substantial headway during the cycling portion. Among his rivals, he was the fastest competitor on two wheels by, in some cases, as much as five minutes.

The cycling race proved perilous for a few of the racers. 鈥淭here were some real good wrecks, some serious injuries,鈥� Parkinson said. 鈥淚t was the first bike race I鈥檝e done where you are allowed to draft. I came down the Vancouver Hill at 70 K, trying to pick up time.鈥�

Buoyed with confidence down the final stretch, Parkinson capped the race with a 14:30 run over the final 2.5 kilometres.

Parkinson knew he had won because announcer Steve King 鈥渨ent nuts.鈥�

鈥淚 was in fifth place as far as he was concerned,鈥� Parkinson said. 鈥淭hen all of the sudden I show up.鈥�

MAP training ground

In the lead-up up to the event, Parkinson spent six weeks running the McLeod Athletic Park oval to pick up his leg speed.

鈥淭he run was flat and with the bike, I train on hills,鈥� Parkinson said. 鈥淓very six days I would do a simulated race. I would do 10 400s (metre sprints), go out and cycle for 30 to 35 minutes hard, and then come back and do four laps around the track and time each lap.鈥�

鈥楢mazing experience鈥�

Parkinson said the Penticton event was a 鈥済enuine, real-deal world championships.鈥�

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 just local guys,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey all had to qualify for this thing; this wasn鈥檛 just kind of, 鈥榦h, we鈥檒l show up at the border and see what they鈥檒l say.鈥欌��

The American team had 1,077 athletes competing in variety of age and gender groups from Aug. 19 to 27.

Parkinson qualified by sending the organizers a list of results from races that he had participated in. 鈥淚 asked if they wanted someone in the 75 to 79, and they said 鈥極h yeah, sure!鈥欌��

This was Parkinson鈥檚 first taste at an International Triathlon Union (ITU) world championships.

鈥淚鈥檝e done some triathlon world championships,鈥� Parkinson noted. 鈥淚n 2006 I got a flat, and in 2014 in Edmonton I fell off a ladder and couldn鈥檛 even walk 5 k, three weeks later.鈥�

He called the experience 鈥渁mazing.鈥�

His race started at 6:30 in the morning. Two hours earlier, well before sunrise, Parkinson drank a meal replacement shake to fuel up.

Looking back, Parkinson was pleasantly surprised by the number entrants ages 60 and over from around the globe.

鈥淓ighty to 84 (years old) there were seven guys; 85 to 89 there were two! That was just the men鈥檚, much less the women鈥檚,鈥� Parkinson said. 鈥淚 was impressed. Fifty-five to 59 (years old), I think there were 70 of them or something 鈥� just massive amounts of people.鈥�

Parkinson said a number of local businesses helped him leading up to the race including: BSP Bicycles; Three Peaks Kinesiology; Clayton Hills Chiropractic, and Peninsula Runners in Walnut Grove.

Thirty one years of fitness

Three decades ago, Parkinson was a slightly overweight smoker. That began to change in 1986 when he took on his first marathon as a challenge.

Since then Parkinson has done the Alcatraz Triathlon twice, along with mountain bike triathlons in Maui, and he also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro 12 years ago. He has two more triathlons to go before this year is through 鈥� one in English Bay on Labour Day and another in Cultus Lake Sept. 16.

His advice to people involved in sports and fitness and are entering their senior years: 鈥淵ou may win some things, but at the end of the day, all this should contribute to a better quality of life. The fact is, it may not add years to your life but it adds life to your years.鈥�

Also competing in Penticton was veteran 91原创 endurance racer Tom Barichello.

Barichello, 60, finished 25th in the 60-64 Men鈥檚 Age Group Standard Duathlon consisting of a 10-kilometre run, 40-kilometre cycling trek, and five-kilometre run.

Considering the health challenges Barichello has endured recently, it鈥檚 a very impressive result.

He underwent three major surgeries (including ankle and then bilateral iliac artery aneurysm operations) in 2015 and as a result shed 20 pounds from his already lean build.

Barichello was told from the surgeries, his abdominal muscles aren鈥檛 working properly so his running style 鈥渉as really gone downhill because I鈥檝e been overcompensating with different muscles, so my hips are not tracking properly.鈥�

Barichello is just now starting to get back into the groove.

鈥淚鈥檓 trying to make a comeback,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was racing very competitively till the end of 2014.鈥�

At past U.S. national duathlons, Barichello has finished in the top six to eight finishers in his division.

But health issues has changed his mindset about racing. 鈥淚t鈥檚 humbling to start with but then you become more accepting of it, and you just go and compete more to compete rather than how you finish. I鈥檓 in a different category, here, now where I鈥檓 just trying to keep in shape and do the best I can.鈥�

Another 91原创 competitor, Robert Durrant, finished 38th in the 50-54 Men鈥檚 Age Group Standard Duathlon.

troy.landreville@blackpress.ca