Watch out Jessica Ennis! Meet the amazing pole vaulting pensioner - who's a world champion vaulter, heptathlete and sprinter - aged 77. Former bank clerk Dorothy McLennan, has scooped dozens of gold medals and world records since taking up athletics professionally in her 50s. And at an age where many of her peers prefer sitting down with a cup of tea in front of the telly, spritely Dorothy trains three days a week in preparation for her next world championships. Dorothy, from Windsor, Berks, has won so many gold medals she's lost count of them - after her rigorous training with her coach - her son, Stephen. She's scooped gold at the world Masters Championships - Olympic standard competitions for athletes aged 35 and over - in the heptathalon twice, as well as dozens of times in the pole vault - reaching heights of more than 2.1metres. And in her late 70s, Dorothy has now taken up Usain Bolt's event - the 100m outdoor sprint - and is hoping to smash the record at the British Masters Championships at the end of February. Dorothy, who lives with her husband Ray, said: "People are always very surprised when I tell them I do pole vaulting and sprinting, but I don't see what's so unusual about it. "I love getting out and about and it keeps me fit and healthy. "I don't just do it to keep active - I'm a competitive person, and if I'm going to give something a go, I want to do it to the best of my ability. "I've had a go at the heptathalon, and won gold in my age category twice at the world games - but the hurdles were quite unkind to my hips. "I took up pole vaulting in 1991, and have been doing it ever since. "I'm not a natural sportswoman, and I've had to work very hard to achieve my success. "Pole vaulting is not the easiest sport to try, but I've loved the challenge of it. "It's a great thrill travelling around the world and entering all these competitions, it keeps me feeling alive - and it certainly beats sitting around the house doing nothing. Dorothy was inspired to take up professional athletics in the mid 80s - after watching a man in his 80s finish a local marathon. And now, she spends up to nine hours a week training at Thames Valley Athletics Centre. Her athletic talents have seen her travel all over the world to compete - from Australia and Japan to America - and most of the countries in Europe. Dorothy said: "I had never been very interested in running in my younger days, and I always thought I was too old to take it up. "But when I saw this older gentleman finish the race - and not at the back, either, I thought, if he can do it, why can't I? "I bought a pair of running shoes, and just started jogging round the block, not very far at all to start with. "But as I got better and better, I decided to join an athletics club, and someone there suggested I tried out pole vaulting. "I thought I might as well give it a go, and I loved it. Once I'd started, I couldn't stop. "I've given everything a go - I've had the most wonderful time. I've visited countries and cities I would never had the chance to otherwise when I've competed there. "We don't get any funding, which is a shame, because older people have a lot to offer. "I've been pole vaulting for more than 20 years, and it is starting to get a bit hard on my joints, so I'm going to focus on my sprinting instead. "I had to do a lot of sprint training for pole vault, so it seemed like the natural thing for me to do next. "I train with a lovely group of people, under my son, Stephen. I don't get any special treatment, though, when we're at training, I'm just Dorothy the pole vaulter. "It's the only time I let him tell me what to do. "My family and friends are all very proud of me, they're used to me nipping off to training and spending my weekends competing. "Some people might think it's an odd thing for someone in their 70s to be doing, but I'll stick with athletics as long as I can keep going. "I've been doing yoga

• published: 20 Jul 2014
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