Cooper’s pledge to truly honour Dean
FEW athletes will take more meaning from the commemorative “Doing it for Dean” Coolangatta Gold wristband than Brielle Cooper.
More than 700 athletes will don a black band tomorrow and Sunday in memory of the life of Dean Mercer.
Mercer died in late August after suffering a heart attack while at the wheel of his car.
His love for the Gold has led to the event becoming a tribute to the man regarded by many as one of the most passionate competitors of all.
That passion will be reflected by Cooper, who will line up in the under-19 shortcourse event tomorrow, hoping to win the race that meant so much to her mentor.
The 18-year-old finished third in the under-19 shortcourse race last year while a North Burleigh competitor.
She was lured back to Kurrawa by head of surf sports Mercer who was helping her prepare for the race he loved.
“I loved my time at North Burleigh but I did miss Kurrawa,” Cooper said.
“I was a nipper at from Kurrawa. I started here when I was seven years old and I’ve done my whole life here. My brother, my sister, my mum and my dad are all members of the surf club, so I pretty much grew up here and this was my home.
“Deano had a massive part in bringing me back.
“The day I left I went to Dean and just said: ‘I need a change, I need something new.’ He totally understood the decision and said I had to do what was right for me.
“When I came back it was like I came home. It felt like nothing had changed.”
What hadn’t changed was Mercer’s passion and the confidence he had in Cooper.
“He always believed in me. He was so confident when sometimes I wasn’t,” she said.
“All you had to do with Deano was put in hard work and he believed you’d get it back. You just have to work for it.”
That’s what she will be doing tomorrow on the new 21km Gold short course.
And she will take plenty of inspiration from Mercer.
“Dean knew how to push himself, knew how to push everyone else,” she said.
“His voice was always in the back of everyone’s mind going, yelling at you, ‘do this, do this’, so Dean will absolutely be in the back of my mind at the Gold this year.
“He was so passionate and loving of our sport, there’s no one like him. To have that around you, it made it so easy, it made it so exciting.
“He shared the passion that I have and it was so nice to look up to someone that loved it as much as I do.”
DEANO HAD A MASSIVE PART IN BRINGING ME BACK BRIELLE COOPER