At 80, Natalie Grabow became the oldest woman to finish the Ironman World Championship, proving age is no barrier to grit, passion, and perseverance.
With every determined stride, stroke and pedal, Natalie Grabow was showing the world that it’s never too late to start something new.
Earlier this month, the 80-year-old grandmother from Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, made history as the oldest woman to ever complete the notoriously grueling Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
She swam 2.4 miles — despite not learning how to swim until she was nearly 60 — cycled 112 miles through blistering heat, and then topped it off with a full 26.2-mile marathon. Around 60 younger competitors dropped out before the finish line. Natalie didn’t.
“She’s truly gritty,” her coach, Michelle Lake, told The New York Times. “Natalie is the definition of grit and gratitude: grateful to make it to the start line, grateful to do something she loves every day, and grateful to inspire so many others.”
What makes her achievement even more extraordinary is how late she began her athletic journey.
Growing up in New Jersey long before Title IX opened doors for female athletes, Natalie didn’t have the opportunities young women enjoy today. “When you grow up and you don’t have those options, you just watch the boys doing stuff and you’re the cheerleader,” she told The Athletic. “It was thrilling once I could do my first 5K and ride a bike with other people.”
As an adult, Natalie worked as a software developer and dabbled in doubles tennis before discovering running. It became a passion that filled her time and connected her with a community of like-minded friends. But when they moved on to triathlons, there was one problem — she couldn’t swim.
Rather than give up, Natalie joined her local YMCA, armed with determination, how-to books, and a few supportive friends. Slowly but surely, she learned to swim well enough to enter her first sprint triathlon.
Over time, she worked her way up — tackling half Ironmans, then full ones, balancing swim sessions, cycling drills, and long runs. And finally, she found herself at the starting line of the world’s toughest triathlon.
Under the scorching Hawaiian sun, she completed the 140.6-mile challenge in 16 hours, 45 minutes, and 26 seconds, earning a new record as the oldest female finisher in Ironman World Championship history.
“Absolutely incredible,” said the event’s announcer as she crossed the line to roaring applause.
But Natalie isn’t finished yet. She’s already signed up for two more Ironman races in 2026 and has her sights set on breaking another record — the oldest overall finisher, currently held by 85-year-old Hiromu Inada.
“The important thing is that people see from my story that they can push themselves a little bit,” she said. “They can do a little more than they thought they could do. They can keep going longer than they thought they could go.”