Injuries, inabilities, and surgeries are sometimes the cause for the end of some athlete’s sporting careers. But for Tony Clements, his hip replacement kicked off the start of his triathlon journey. Carry on reading to find out how Tony’s hip replacement enabled him to start running again, had encouraged him to learn how to swim at 40 years old, and led him to his recent Super Vintage Veteran win at our Super Series 2022.
Tony Clements has always been a runner. Back in his days as a student at Swansea University, Tony was an avid rugby player. A sport in which he continued to play until he was 30. But even then, Tony knew his strength was his endurance. He says that in his position as a backrow forward, this was his biggest asset. At one club his running ability shone through in his strong performances during the 2 mile warm up run that the players were required to do before training. Therefore, as he began to lose the pace for rugby, this is where his running journey began.
Unfortunately, this journey was cut short when Tony started experiencing pain in his hip and groin when he was 40. Tony prioritised swimming as a way to keep fit. Therefore, at 40 years old, when Tony started to have problems with his hip, he learnt how to swim. After starting to run again in his 50s the groin pain returned, and after x-rays 13 years ago Tony was diagnosed with an arthritic hip. He waited 18 months for an operation and then Tony had a hip resurface. The hip resurfacing went okay. However, Tony could only do around 10 minutes on the treadmill after this and that was about it. As it turns out, the metal on metal from the hip resurfacing was causing it to deteriorate and six years ago, Tony had to have a full hip replacement. Tony considers this a lucky experience as after the hip replacement, the flexibility in his hips massively improved. The surgeon at the time said he would get Tony back running again and this he did. Tony rebuilt his running ability back up on the treadmill and got to the point where he thought ‘I could possibly do a 5k on this hip now’.
Tony lends the start of his triathlon journey to his daughter, Megan, who is a triathlete and it was only when Tony went to support his daughter at triathlons that he thought ‘well maybe I could do that’. He now had the ability to swim. He wasn’t a cyclist but he knew how to ride a bike. The running, which he could definitely do, was the only aspect that he thought could possibly have a negative impact on his hip. So, he understands he has to limit himself. Even now, Tony knows he is able to run up to 10k but if he tried to up his mileage it could cause damage so he manages it.
And now, at 72 years old, Tony has made the Welsh Team, the GB age group team, and has recently won the Super Vintage Veteran category at last year’s Super Series. An incredible triumph for Tony.
Although some of it he found challenging, specifically the swims in Fishguard and Bala, he really enjoyed the Super Series events. Especially the fact that you bump into some of the same people in different races. He’s already booked two events, Barry and Bala, ready for this year. In terms of other plans for this year, Tony is ready to get involved and is actively filling up his diary, with hopes to do the Super Series again, one of the GB aquathlons, and possibly one or two other standard distances to “try and get to that level a bit more consistently”. We’re excited to see what Tony achieves in 2023.
When asked about his biggest supporters, Tony mentioned his partner who “has to put up with a lot of training” and helps to sort his kit during the morning panic before an event. And, of course, his daughter. They go to a lot of events together and for the odd swim/run when she is home. Although Tony jokes that going for a run together would be “a recovery run for her and my hardest one of the week”. Tony also acknowledges that joining a club, the Swansea TriSharks, has also been massively important for him for a number of reasons including a sense of community and having somebody who helps with the acclimatisation for open-water swimming, was a huge help. Also just being able to have sessions with other people. Tony is someone who regularly trains alone and having a club to train with ‘is really important to push and motivate you’.
Another one of Tony’s biggest motivators is his awareness and eagerness to improve. With his lack of experience in cycling prior to his hip replacement, Tony understands that his biggest challenge is getting this up to speed. He states that this is one of his targets to work on right now. And targets are an important aspect of the sport for Tony. He says that with the four disciplines of triathlon (swim, bike, run, transition), there is always going to be something to improve on, “it enables you to always have new goals and achievable ones as well”.
Finally, to close, Tony says that his message is “don’t be discouraged by any sort of surgery or level of disability…it’s about having some realistic goals. I feel that you can really surprise yourself in the sense of what your body can do. As long as you’re sensible and you know the areas that you need to be careful with”. He stresses the importance of “being active rather than inactive” and “pushing the boundaries”. Tony’s philosophy is “I’ll carry on doing it while I can”.
When Tony has his initial x-rays 12-13 years ago, they said his other hip was going as well. He has had his fingers crossed ever since and it seems to be going well for him so far. We hope that Tony’s hips will not be an issue for him again and he can continue his victorious triathlon journey.
