TWO top swimmers are proving it is never too late to take the plunge.

Helen Weatherby learned to swim as a child in a brook in Bohemia, Germany -- and aged 73 she is now a top senior swimmer in Bolton.

Her colleague, 70-year-old Peter Tucker, is the current British over 800 meters freestyle champion in the 70 to 74 year old age group.

They are both members of the worldwide Master Swimmers branch in Darwen and swim in Bolton.

Master Swimmers is aimed at the over 25's, and organises competitive swimming in five-year age brackets.

Former Crowthorn and Bury Church Schools teacher Helen, said: "I feel better in my seventies than in my fifties or sixties.

"When you're swimming, you can relax.

"And I know my body now."

High Jump

Helen, from Blackburn Road, Edgworth, said she used to enjoy the high jump in her younger days, and walking with her late husband.

When she taught at Crowthorn School, she would always swim during her lunch hours.

"The pool was only 12 and a half meters long -- if you push off well at one end you would nearly be at the other end."

She even once did a swim for charity there.

"It was nothing but turning round".

In her early sixties, she learned to do the crawl and butterfly and joined Master Swimmers.

She now gets up at 6am Monday to Friday to swim at The Water Place.

This in addition to training sessions in Darwen.

In the evenings, she takes an 88-year-old friend swimming at Turton Leisure Centre.

By her own admission, she is a "late developer", and only learned to drive at the age of 63.

At the age of 68, she tried to do a parachute jump with the Red Arrows, until she was told she was "the wrong side of 40".

But nothing can stop Helen now.

"I used to just do breast stroke, but my osteopath said the leg kick was bad for my back.

"He said: 'It might be all right for frogs but not for people.'

"Learning how to breathe properly was difficult.

"I used to do nearly a length without breathing -- I've got big lungs.

"Now, I never travel without my 'cozzie' and hat," said Helen, who also wears goggles and a nose clip.

"All my strength is in my arms.

"One of my trainers said once I learned the crawl too late, my legs do not move me fast enough and I should do some weights.

Medal

"But I already look like an American football player."

In 1998, she just lost out on a medal at the Master Swimmer World Championships in Casablanca.

But Helen has swum her way to a small fortune for charity, through 5,000 meter BT Swimathons, for instance.

It takes her two and a half hours to complete the distance -- "I just know exactly how fast I have to go" -- while it takes friend Peter an hour and twenty minutes.

"He is 70, but people think he is 50," she laughed.

Peter, from Harwood, used to play water polo and swim for pleasure.

Ten years ago, he joined the Master Swimmers and since then he has gained a clutch of medals.

"It keeps me fit," said Peter, from Harwood.

"I've always swum but entering competitions gives you that urge to work a bit harder at training."

Peter's wife Dorothy -- who also enjoys swimming -- is always by his side, to clock his laps with a stop watch at competitions, and "pick up the pieces when it doesn't go well."

But looking at his impressive track record, this probably does not happen too often . . .