Kate Rutherford doesn't describe herself as a late starter, but she certainly thinks of herself as a fast finisher.
The Liverpool-born mother-of-two has been racking up wins in age-group triathlons this year, and surprised even herself with a win over a number of elite athletes from the Hong Kong triathlon squad last month.
And she did this at the age of 39.
Rutherford's achievements are all the more remarkable because she has only been competing in triathlons for the past three years - the result of wanting to lose weight after giving birth to her second child.
'After my baby was born I decided to start running to lose weight,' said Rutherford, who was then 33. 'I didn't like running, and the thought of doing just a 2km run was torture for me. However, I persevered and the weight just came off - for me running was the key to losing weight.'
Rutherford said she ran for no more than 30 minutes during each training session, but this proved to be enough to burn off an unwanted 24kg, which did not sit well on her normal 55kg frame. Having got fit again she then decided to dip her toe in the pool - something she did regularly as a child. The stroke and technique came flooding back.