Veteran cyclist Penny Pawson recovers from the ravages of injury to set a world record on the track
The adage ‘The older I get, the better I was’ definitely doesn’t ring true for world record-setting cyclist Penny Pawson, who like a good wine, just gets better with age.
Cycling has been, and continues to be, a big part of Pawson’s life, with a busy mix of being a mother of two and a doctor. And she’s overcome some terrible breaks to become one of the world’s best in her age group.
As Penny Warring, she represented New Zealand at the turn of the new Millennium in a road cycling team with the likes of Sarah Ulmer and Meshy Holt. But as she was working three jobs at the time, there was precious-little time for significant training.
Having married Commonwealth Games cycling medallist Tim Pawson, Penny stopped riding in 2003 with the birth of their first son, and two years later, a second son.
Now if you’re wondering how much cycling plays a role in the Pawson household, the boys are named Edward (after Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx) and Bernard (after five-time Tour de France champion Bernard Hinault). And Tim has developed a successful bike distribution business.
Progeny and profession were front-and-centre for Penny until Tim suggested they compete in the World Masters Games in Auckland in 2018.
“I hadn’t ridden more than 3km to and from work on a mountain bike,” she says. “But I found time to train and I won the individual time trial and the road race outright across all Masters age groups.”
A surprised Pawson got the bug again, and organised time to train regularly. She was selected for the UCI world masters road championships in Albi, France, where she won a bronze in the time trial (on a road bike) and was eighth in the road race despite a broken derailleur on her bike.
The race was carnage, with many crashes, which led Pawson to consider trying track cycling instead.
In her first time on the velodrome, she broke the national age group pursuit record, and won several races, which encouraged her to compete in the 2019 world track cycling championships in Manchester. She came home with the gold medal and rainbow jersey in the points race and silver in the individual pursuit by 0.17s.
She moved to the 50-54 years age group and narrowly missed several attempts to break the individual pursuit world best time, but she continued with a focus on that mark.
Pawson also returned to the road, competing in Waikato’s Dynamo road race series for open women, winning five of six races – with her teammate, Tokyo Olympic triathlete Ainsley Thorpe. Their plan was for Thorpe to attack with 10kms to go in her bid to win.
Going downhill Thorpe lost control after hitting a pothole, swerving across the hole, and with nowhere to go, Pawson smashed into her bike, and flew over the bars.
“I was knocked out and when I came to, I found my right clavicle up almost through the skin,” Pawson says. “The shoulder and concussion were the worst of my list of injuries.”
Pawson, who’s a GP in Auckland, went back to work after a few weeks off, but surgeons decided the injuries to her arm were too complex to fix and could not provide a range of motion needed to ride a bike.
“I had months of physio and by that time I could finally get my arm high enough to allow me to brush my teeth, eat with a spoon and brush my hair,” she says.
Pawson managed to ride one-armed on a trainer and she continued with ongoing rehab. But just when there was light at the end of the tunnel, there was another setback while she and Tim were in Israel, supporting son Edward who was competing at the UCI junior track world championships.
“I had no bike so thought I might run,” Pawson says. “I did a daft thing while out running and over did it, fracturing my tibia, which set me back until the end of 2022.”
Pawson, coached by Olympic cycling great Hayden Roulston, returned to action for the Auckland track championships in February this year - the first time she’d pinned on a number since that fateful day in May 2022.
“That was a bit scary, but I got through and actually found that I was close to the world record which amazed me. And this was without any intensity work because of the broken leg,” she says.
Fellow noted Counties Manukau Cycling Club masters rider Colin Claxton wanted to attempt a world best time at the upcoming national championships, and asked Pawson if she also wanted to do so, and share the cost of drug testing required to authenticate any record.
“Despite a shoulder that’s still separated, which affected any power from a start gate in the pursuit, I decided, why not?” Pawson says.
She trained hard, and in the attempt clocked 2m 30.408s in the 2000m individual pursuit to set the world’s best time for the 50-54 years age group - 0.7s better that the previous world record.
“It was amazing. I don’t know what’s happened under the surface of the water to get there,” Pawson says.
“There’s this myth that it’s somehow easier to break a world record when you’re a master, especially for timed events. Many times I’ve heard that from younger riders.
“But it just doesn’t work like that. As our bodies get older, those times and speeds look like they might be easier to accomplish, but it’s just as hard as it is for an elite.
“To be best in the world as a master, you probably need to have been one of the best as an elite, or somehow you have missed your calling and picked up the sport later.”
What lies ahead for Pawson, with a fully repaired and healthy body? No-one would doubt her faculty or fighting qualities.
