News / Quadrathlon
63-year-old wins two Quadrathlon World Championships
A porter at a retirement village in north Bristol has become the quadrathlon world champion over two distances for his age group.
Jules Taylor, aged 63, won both the Middle Distance Quadrathlon World Championship and the Long Course Quadrathlon World Championship in the over 60s category, with these two victories forming his unique double.
Quadrathletes participate in swimming, cycling, running and kayaking.
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Jules achieved a time of 2 hours and 51 minutes for his 1.5km swim, 30km bike, 7km kayak and 9.3km run at the 2024 Middle Distance Quadrathlon World Championship held in Lincolnshire.
He pushed his body even further at the 2024 Long Course Quadrathlon World Championship in Hungary in a 2.6km swim, 20km kayak, 62km bike and 21.1km run, which he completed in six hours and 59 minutes.
Jules said: “I really did enjoy competing in both events and was very proud of my results, particularly in Hungary.
“It had been years since I did a long-distance event and combined with the 35 degree heat, it was very challenging.”
Jules estimates that it took seven weeks of dedicated training to master the various disciplines
Jules continued: “I’ve always enjoyed sport and it’s how I measure myself. If I’m doing well at something it puts me in good place.
“I’ve always been competitive and always felt the drive to be doing something. It doesn’t matter what, as long as I enjoy it and can be good at it.”
Jules only began competing in quadrathlons in 2022, having previously competed in half-marathons, marathons, triathlons, ultra distance kayaking, 24-hour ultra running and Ironman events.
His achievements at the 2024 World Championship titles were added to his accolades of Overall National Champion and Overall National Trophy Series Champion.
His victory as Overall National Champion was especially remarkable, as he triumphed over quadrathletes half his age.
Jules is sponsored by Bristol-based charity the St Monica Trust. He works at their Westbury Fields Retirement Village as a porter.
Before his job at the retirement village, Jules worked as a personal trainer, but when the gyms were closed in lockdown, he found himself with spare time.
After initially volunteering with the St Monica Trust, he fell in love with the retirement village and “jumped at” the permanent position when it came up.
St Monica Trust’s director of retirement villages, Roger Hayward, said: “What Jules achieved last year would be a staggering achievement at any age, but even more so when you consider he is almost old enough to be one of our residents.
“He is a constant source of inspiration for our residents at Westbury Fields – and vice versa – as I know that some of them enjoy working out with Jules when he is using the onsite gym or running around the cricket pitch in his lunch hour.”
Jules thanks the St Monica Trust for sponsoring him, and the residents at Westbury Fields for their support and ingenuity.
“Every day they remind me that if you keep using what you’ve got, then you never lose it and that it’s always possible to improve – no matter what age you are.”
In the coming year, Jules will work to defend his national titles, competing in the Glasgow to Edinburgh Challenge, along with the Monster the Loch long-distance kayak races.
The latter task will see him traverse across the entire 22.7-mile length of Loch Ness.
All photos: Barbara Evripidou
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