Car park training brings a repeat dose of gold for Nyika
When David Nyika was training in an empty car park last year, a second Commonwealth Games boxing gold medal seemed a long way away.
But the 22-year-old overcame a tumultuous 2017 to win the 91-kilogram heavyweight division at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games on Saturday.
The medal will take pride of place alongside his gold from 2014 in Glasgow in the 81kg division as he became the first Kiwi man to win Commonwealth gold in two different weight divisions.
Saturday’s jubilant scenes were a world away from the aftermath of Nyika parting ways with his coach of seven years, Rik Ellis, last year.
‘‘The politics within the sport really came between the coachathlete relationship, but I’ve appreciated everything he’s done for me,’’ Nyika said on Saturday.
‘‘It made it really tough, but I’ve proven to myself I can self-direct myself. I go where I need to go, be where who I need to be to get where I need to go.’’
His preparations for the AIBA world championships in Hamburg, Germany, were badly affected by the split, which happened just weeks before the tournament started in late August.
It left him without a training base, no longer welcome at Ellis’ Ringside gym in Hamilton, and meant he ended up running around, and ducking and weaving, in a car park next to a playground near Hamilton’s Claudelands Events Centre.
There were other offers of places to train, but he said in an interview late last year he didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes and needed time to clear his head.
He did admit he felt stupid and silly as he did drills in the car park, but knew he had to do it to get where he wanted to go.
The car park eventually disappeared, replaced by the comparatively palatial environment of the England Institute of Sport, where he trained with the British Lionhearts team for the World Series of Boxing.
On Saturday though, he said the whole saga had taken its toll.
‘‘I’ve been exhausted over the last year or so. I’ve had some hurdles that I’ve overcome, but it’s really taken it out of me. I’m knackered, physically, emotionally and mentally.’’
The thing that got him through was his supportive family and friends.
‘‘It wouldn’t be so without such a supportive family. My parents, my siblings, my girlfriend, all my friends and family that have supported me up to this point. It’s been a team achievement.’’
And perhaps, in a way, it made the win even more satisfying – a true test of his inner strength and determination.
‘‘It feels incredible. I expected to be here, so I’m not surprised but I’m impressed by the way I’ve overcome obstacles in my past. To get here wasn’t easy and it never will be. Boxing is a tough sport and I’ve proven to myself that I’m a better athlete than I was yesterday.’’
What the David Nyika of tomorrow looks like remains uncertain.
He could continue in the amateur ranks until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after being robbed of a chance of competing at Rio in 2016 by a dodgy judging decision at a qualifying tournament. Or he could enter the professional ranks and chase the dream of a world title.