GOLD PRIDE

Mercer loss set to reshape sport’s biggest competition

SURF lifesaving’s blue riband endurance event, the Coolangatta Gold, is set to become a tribute to passionate competitor Dean Mercer, when it is held in just over a month.

Mercer died in hospital yesterday after suffering a heart attack and crashing his car on the way home from training.

The sport was immediately plunged into mourning after losing one of its most popular personalities and dogged racers. While no official Coolangatta Gold tribute had been announced yesterday in the immediate wake of his death, there’s no doubt competitors will draw heavily on Mercer’s legendary passion and drive.

Small in stature, Mercer was a giant in the surf lifesaving world and while he never won the Gold – finishing with two thirds and a second place behind race legend Caine Eckstein at 39 – he was passionate about the legendary endurance test.

Though a two-time Australian ironman champion, fivetime NSW title winner and world Oceanman champ, the Gold was the one crown that eluded Mercer, mainly due to the fact it went into hiatus between 1992 and 2005, the years in which Mercer and brother Darren dominated the sport.

Despite being in his mid-30s when the race returned, Mercer took part in the 41km torture test and finished third behind Zane Holmes in 2006 before placing second to Eckstein in 2009 and completing the course in 2010, at age 40, before officially retiring.

Reigning Kellogg’s series champion Matt Poole, who worked with Mercer at Kurrawa where he was director of surf sports, led the tributes.

“Amazing athlete, father, husband and human,” Poole said in a tribute on Instagram.

“I was fortunate enough to train and race alongside you at Mooloolaba and still to this day I’m yet to see anyone as passionate and determined in their work ethic with the way they train and race, it was inspiring to watch.

“Since I moved to the Gold Coast you’ve played a big role in coaching, assisting and mentoring not only myself but everyone at Kurrawa Surf Club. You will be missed by many. My thoughts are with the entire Mercer family.”

Mercer was a longtime Kellogg’s athlete, sticking with the brand during the “cereal wars” of the 1990s, when many of the sport’s best athletes moved to the rival Uncle Toby’s series.

“We are shocked and devastated by the news of Dean’s death,” Kellogg’s Australia managing director Belinda Tumbers said.

“Our hearts go out to Dean’s family. He will be dearly missed.”