Margaret Sadow has returned from the Australian Masters Game with four gold medals, three silver and two bronze, including two impressive world records.
Not bad for an 86-year-old who kicks off her days routinely at 4am with either a 1000 to 1500m row or a 1000m swim.
Competing at the 2025 Masters Games in Canberra last month, Margaret signed up for both rowing and swimming events in the 85 to 89 age division.
She won gold for all four of her rowing events competing in the four minute and one minute distance event and the timed 500m and 1000m events.
To give you an insight into Margaret’s competitive streak, she rowed more than 800m in the four minute event, further than she anticipated, and competed the 500m distance in two minutes and ten seconds. It was only when they made the medal announcements that she realised she had broken the world record in both events.
She medalled in five of her six swimming events gaining silver for the 50 freestyle and 50m backstroke and 200m backstroke and bronze medals for the 100m backstroke and 25m free.
While some would be screaming from the rafters about this success, Margaret is quite the opposite.
“It was just another race that I am lucky to be able to compete in,” Margaret humbly told The Hunter River Times.
“You just do your best, I was surprised by the results, you assume you are not going to break any records especially given I only competitively row every three to four years.”
Rather than being impressed by her own results, she was more inspired by her fellow competitors, particularly the veteran rowing events that incorporated younger athletes, many of whom were paraplegic.
“It was fascinating to watch, these young men with prosthetics, on rowing machines with stable seats unlike ours that move with the rowing motion, it was inspirational to watch them challenge themselves,” she said.
The race set up allows competitors to see where they are placed on the screen and Margaret said she just did her best.
Margaret learnt to swim before she could walk on the insistence of her mother.
“Mum thought if you could crawl you could swim to I learnt to swim in the dam on our property at Wills Gully (now Singleton Infantry Area) and then swam at the old 50m pool in Gowrie Street.”
It was only when she was a sprightly 75 year old that she thought she could do with some swimming tips.
She travelled alone to the Wet Ones group in Sydney where each lane had a coach and realised she could improve her stroke.
Twice she travelled to Thailand for more lessons when she was 79 and 80 and says the intensive lessons were more about the mental training.
“You would have someone at the side of the pool singing out ‘wrong-wrong-wrong’ until you got it right,” she said.
“It was about concentrating on the bottom of the pool and lifting your head slightly to the side, enough to take in some air but no water.”
Margaret appreciates her health and her own rumpus room includes a rowing machine, treadmill and stationary bike that get plenty of use every day.
“I ride about three kilometres on a bike so that’s not bad,” she quietly smiled.
“I’m lazy, seriously, I’m lazy,.”
Held every two years, the Australian Masters Games is one of Australia’s largest multi-sport events bringing together around 8,000 to 10,000 Masters athletes and supporters from over 50 sports for eight days of competition and fellowship.
This is very much the case for Margaret; she enjoys the competition but it is the friendships she has formed through sport over the years that is equally important.
“You enjoy seeing people you have met previously at competitions.”
Will she be on the starting blocks again in two years’ time?
“We shall see, I will if I can.”
-DI SNEDDON
