It was a week to remember for the Anglim family at the World Triathlon Multisport Championships in Romania. Not only did Mick Anglim win his 13th and 14th international golds for the Great Britain Age-Group Team but he was also joined on the team by his son Brendan and for the first time his granddaughter, Erin.

Mick is one of the most experienced and successful members of the GB Age-Group Team, first representing GB in 1999. Since then, he has represented his country in more than 50 international championships, winning 28 medals including a combined total of 14 World and European titles.

His latest medal haul, which included golds in cross duathlon and standard distance duathlon in the male 75-79 age group along with silver over the sprint distance, was made even more special by the fact he was joined on the trip to Targu Mures by both his son and granddaughter.

“I’m incredibly proud that both Brendan and Erin were able to qualify and enjoy the Targu Mures event. It was a really special event, even though I’m still smarting at missing out on Sprint gold through my own fault.

“It’s always a huge honour to represent GB and there have been lots of memorable moments over the years, but being there with Brendan and Erin I think that was probably the proudest moment I’ve had representing GB.

“Brendan came flying past me on the bike and it was great to be able to compare my times with Erin, who is faster than me as a runner but also beat me on the bike although I did complete an extra lap. It was a really special experience and one we’ll all remember.”

Whilst Mick and Brendan have represented the GB Age-Group Team before, the World Sprint Distance Duathlon Championships was Erin’s first experience competing at an international event, and wearing the GB trisuit for the first time was a proud moment for the 19-year-old.

“I went to Ibiza four years ago [2018 European Multisport Championships] to watch them compete and that was really cool,” Erin reflected. “That was a real motivator for me because that made me want to be there competing instead of just watching.

“I grew up running, and I have done triathlon for a while, but then I had an ear infection and surgery, and I haven’t got back into swimming since then. I did my first duathlon in 2019 to just see if I enjoyed it and my first race was actually where I qualified to go to the World Championships.

“I felt so proud to be able to wear the GB trisuit, I didn’t want to take it off for ages. There was a lot of relief when I crossed the finish line, I was really happy to have finished it because that was my main aim, and I was very proud to have been able to do that. I was obviously even prouder when we could have a photo together by the finish line in our trisuits.”

Not only was Brendan joined on the start line with his daughter for the first time, seeing his dad compete and continue to win gold medals keeps him feeling motivated to achieve his own swim, bike, run goals.

“I find it incredibly inspiring, it’s a real motivator,” Brendan explained. “It can also be little bit challenging because I’m never going to live up to what he’s achieved, but it’s more about his enjoyment of the sport. I know I can share that with him. I am sure my colleagues at work get a little bit bored of my comments about how amazing he is.

“The race in Targu Mures was great fun, the bike course was really exciting and the event itself was interesting. The key memory was the fact that we are all there together and that is what made it so special. It has been a target for us to be able to do it altogether, so it’s great that it’s come off.”

All three had limited training before heading to Romania with Erin fitting in runs and exercise classes around studying medicine at the University of Sheffield, while Brendan combines any training he can do around his teaching role as Head of Design and Technology at Ampleforth College.

Whilst for Mick, it’s his love of racing that drives him on, with the 74-year-old never far away from a start line, completing 106 races in the year before lockdown and already 50 this year.

“We regularly borrowed Brendan’s motorhome to travel to European events carrying Brendan’s race bike as teaching has always limited his travel to extended weekends,” Mick said. “Driving a big campervan into foreign airports in order to collect or drop off Brendan has been a regular, if often fraught, occurrence.

“We’ve taken our mothers to European and American Championship events combining the race with holidays and Erin has mentioned how she was inspired after joining us in Ibiza in 2018. For that event, we drove to Ibiza using the ferry from Barcelona carrying three race bikes and then collected Brendan, his wife Victoria and Erin from the airport.

“We’ve actually just bought another motorhome to make the most of future European Championships.”

Asked what’s next and when all three could be on the start line together again, Mick, who has competed in over 30 countries around the world, replied: “We were really looking forward to the opportunity to go to Townsville [awarded host venue of 2020 World Triathlon Multisport Championships before the event was cancelled due to Covid-19].

“Brendan’s wife, Victoria, lived in Australia when she was younger so the idea of taking the whole family back to Australia was something we had discussed. I would like to think that we could race together again both in Ibiza and in Townsville in 2024.”

Interested in finding out more about the Great Britain Age-Group Team? Visit https://www.britishtriathlon.org/age-group.