Champ back, thanks to Mum
A RESURGENT Shannon Eckstein has admitted he was on the cusp of retirement before his family and his pride sparked a revival that led to a record 35th Nutri-Grain ironman race victory.
Eckstein conquered big seas and freezing conditions yesterday at Fairhaven Beach on Victoria’s Surf Coast to win Round 4 ahead of series leader Ali Day and Manly’s Kendrick Tucker, surviving a fright on the final ski leg.
The nine-time series champion admitted he lost pride in his performance in the opening three rounds this summer as he battled disenchantment over the direction of the series.
Eckstein revealed he had considered quitting mid-series and throwing his energy behind his Australian titles preparation, before a stern talking to from his mother and some deep reflection over the Christmas break, convinced him to continue.
“It’s a different year, the racing’s different,” he said. “It’s just like a big surf carnival and it’s not like the ironman’s what we’re coming down here for and I’ve been a bit disenchanted with the formats.
“My Mum came down to Wollongong (in December) and watched Round 3 and after that, I said, ‘I might go to Magic Millions and not go to Torquay’,” he said. “And she said, ‘No Shannon. The next four weeks, get your ankle right, get really fit and go down there and stick it up them’.
“And Mum never talks like that. I think she got a bit of a feeling on the beach at North Wollongong that everyone thinks Shannon’s gone and he doesn’t really care anymore and all the young guys are beating him.”
Donna Eckstein’s view forced her son into a rethink after another generation of the family already had him reconsidering his stance.
“Mum, after Round 3, said that but after Round 2 when I lost my ski, (my daughter) Ellie came up to me crying.
“She was in hysterics that I got eliminated and I lost my ski,” he said of a race at Coolum in which he finished eighth after a shock elimination following an error on the ski.
“She’s grown up and I’ve always won or been right up the top and she’s never seen anything like that and she was really upset.
“I’m probably not teaching her the right things (if that was her reaction). But you’ve got to be proud of your dad and proud of your performance and in the first three rounds, I wasn’t really proud of anything there and I didn’t really care, to an extent.
“I’ve been doing it for so long that I didn’t care – but you’ve got to care.”