Annabelle Chapman

AGE 59 Architect, mother, Ironwoman

“I swim in a squad at Bondi Icebergs [NSW] three times a week at 6am. I like swimming with a group because I know that, even in the dark in the middle of winter, there will be a whole lot of mad people like me at the pool when I get there. Afterwards, we all have coffee – we stand by the pool at sunrise and say, ‘How good is this?’

“Once a week, I meet a group of women to ride longboards at Bondi and each Sunday at 8am I do surf-ski training at Palm Beach in Sydney’s north. Afterwards, there are races: board, swim, ski, run, flags.

“And once a month, on a Friday, I drive up to Palm Beach to be there at 6.30am for an hour and a half of ins and outs: paddling, swimming, running up and down sandhills.

“I also train and compete in carnivals with a group of women. We’ve been together for 10 years and, in the past six, we’ve come back from almost every carnival with gold medals. I’m the current Australian Masters Ironwoman and double ski champion in my age group.

“We’ve competed in massive, sometimes dangerous surfs. You need to be fit, strong and a bit fearless. I always had some courage, but over the years,

I’ve developed a lot more skill. I feel pretty confident now that I have the skill to deal with most things.

“I love being in the water and I love being part of the surf club at Palm Beach. There are people from 18 to 80 swimming together – it’s a great community. I swim and compete with people who are much older than me.

“My feeling is that, if you keep doing this every day, your body gets used to it. It’s invigorating and keeps me young.”

“You need to be fit, strong and a bit fearless.”