She has been competing seriously in athletics for six years and reduced her weight by 12kg, to 52kg.
"And I've kept it off," Giles (55), an orthodontic assistant at the University of Otago School of Dentistry, told the Otago Daily Times on her return to Dunedin.
The weight loss and the increased fitness was the by-product of her athletics training that has been aimed at the Oceania championships over the last six months.
Giles has now won 10 gold medals at the Oceania championships - two in Townsville in 2008, one in Tahiti in 2010 and seven this year.
In Tauranga, Giles won nine medals - five individual gold, two relay gold, one silver and one bronze - in the women's 55 grade.
The individual gold medals were in the 60m (9.35sec), 100m (14.84sec), 200m (30.61sec), 400m (1min 11.89sec) and pentathlon (2969 points).
She was also in teams that won the 4 x 100m relay and the medley relay.
Giles set Oceania and New Zealand records in the 60m, and Otago records in the 60m, 100m, 400m, pentathlon and javelin.
Giles won a silver medal in the long jump (3.61m) and a bronze medal in the javelin (21.20m).
A total of 472 athletes from 13 countries competed in the week-long championships.
The gold medals did not come easily to Giles, who trains two hours a day, six days a week.
Training includes sprinting with coach Jarrod Adams and core work at the Les Mills gymnasium with personal trainer Elwyn Rouvi.
"It gave me enjoyment standing on the podium in New Zealand colours," she said, "It was icing on the cake. All the hard work had paid off."
The gold medal that gave her the most satisfaction was in the medley relay.
"I ran the 200m leg and held out multiple world masters champion Marie Kay (Australia)," she said.
Giles competed at the world masters championships in Sacramento last year and reached the semifinals of the 100m and 400m.
She will not be able to compete at the world masters championships in Brazil next year because her son, Greg, is getting married in Ireland. He played rugby for Green Island before playing semi-professional rugby in Ireland.
Her husband, Malcolm Giles, and Alex Merrilees were officials at the championships.
The next Oceania championships is in Bendigo, Australia, in 2014.
The 14 Otago athletes were members of the New Zealand team and brought home 17 gold, 13 silver and 12 bronze medals. Nine Otago records were broken.
Liz Wilson won five gold medals in the women's 45 grade in the 60m (8.66sec), 100m (13.37sec), 200m (27.53sec), 400m (63.44sec) and long jump (4.24m). Her 400m was an Otago record.
Fiona Harvey won gold medals in the women's 50 discus (27.26m) and weight pentathlon (2818 points) and silver medals in the hammer throw (27.57m), weight throw (9.78m) and javelin (25.28m).
Gold medals were also won by Julie Wilson in women's 55 5000m (19min 39.67sec), Noeline Burden women's 55 high jump (1.12m) and Gene Sanderson in men's 55 team cross-country.
Burden also won a bronze meal in the 400m and Sanderson a silver medal in the medley relay and a bronze meal in the 5km cross-country.
The other medallists were:Silver: Barbara Patrick, women's 60 800m, 1500m and cross-country; Winifred Harding women's 55 shot put, weight throw; Dalise Sanderson women's 55 800m; Bill Kenny, men's 75 2km steeplechase.
Bronze: Kenny, 400m, 800m, 1500m; Harding hammer throw, Patrick 5000m, Dalise Sanderson 1500m, Mike Weddell men's 60 400m (63.44sec, Otago record) , Peter Tutty men's 60 medley relay.
Otago records were also broken by Joan Merrilees in the women's 60 hammer throw (24.44m) and weight throw (10.56m).
Oceania masters
Otago golds
Claire Giles: 60m, 100m, 200m, 400m, pentathlon, 4 x 100m relay, medley relay
Liz Wilson: 60m, 100m, 200m, 400m, long jump
Fiona Harvey: discus, weight pentathlon
Julie Wilson: 5000m
Noeline Burden: high jump
Gene Sanderson: team cross-country
