Celebrate good times, come on
Play it again Sam: Those emotions were refreshing
OPINION: It would be a boring world if everyone was the same.
So when Sam Clark’s emotions took over after defending his longest day Coast to Coast title on Saturday, it was somewhat refreshing.
The Whakatane multisport athlete was first across the finishline in New Brighton to complete a remarkable comeback and beat rival Braden Currie.
He launched into a fit of pure joy and emotion rarely seen in New Zealand sport.
It could have been mistaken for a tirade, but it was just Clark showing immense satisfaction after emptying the tank to win the 243km race across the South Island.
‘‘Never stop fighting. It’s not over until it’s over,’’ he screamed after finishing in 11 hr 2min 43sec.
He’d just sprayed half a bottle of champagne over himself and spectators, and even took a moment to knock some back himself.
Clark was so jacked up from knocking back caffeine gels during the final 70km cycle across the Canterbury Plains he feared he might have a brain hemorrhage.
‘‘I can’t even think straight. I don’t think I’ve ever focussed so hard in my life.’’
Clark, who at one point trailed three-time champion Currie by 17 minutes, slashed the deficit to just four minutes at the end of a powerful 67km kayak leg.
Teeth gritted and making sounds that could be mistaken for a bear, he appeared to be a man possessed as he hauled himself out of the boat and made his way towards his bike. ‘‘I’ve f..... got this,’’ he bellowed. Clark, who can be so casual and mild mannered off the course, has the ability to go into full beast mode.
He was a combination of determined, crazed and angry during the race, which started at Kumara Beach, near Greymouth.
Maybe Currie’s pre-race comments fired him into a fit of rage.
‘‘I sure showed him, didn’t I?’’ Clark snarled, when quizzed about Currie’s comments last week.
Currie, who missed last year’s race to concentrate on triathlon, said he didn’t think Clark would be able to keep up with him after winning unchallenged last year.
While speaking to media immediately after defending his title, Clark’s teeth remained clenched together and the steely focus in eyes never waned.
‘‘I just dug deeper than I’ve ever dug before before. I just absolutely buried myself,’’ he said.
Earlier, when trailing Currie by almost 12 minutes at the end of the mountain run, Clark shot past his bike at the Klondyke transition.
He cursed himself out loud, before embarking on an incredible comeback.
He gassed Currie with about 30km left in the cycle, eventually finishing almost eight minutes in front of the Wanaka athlete.
As much as Clark celebrated his win, he was quick to embrace Currie when he crossed the finishline in second place.
‘‘He kicks my ass at every triathlon I do,’’ Clark said.
‘‘Two years ago he beat me just by the skin of my teeth. I can’t even begin to describe just how happy I amto finally do this.
‘‘It’s been a three-year mission or vendetta to not just get a victory, but a real victory against a world class competition.
‘‘I’m so happy and I’m yelling a lot.’’
Meanwhile, Elina Ussher won the women’s race for the fourth time, like Clark storming home on the final 70km cycle leg. She joined Jill Westenra with four titles to her name. Only Kathy Lynch (five) has won more.
Ussher held a commanding lead after the first 55km bike leg, but Owen, who admitted pre-race cycling wasn’t her strongest discipline, came storming back during the mountain run.
She turned a 15 minute deficit into a four-minute one at the start of the kayak on the Waimakariri River, before putting her expertise on the water to use.
The five-time winner of South Africa’s prestigious Dusci canoe marathon (120km) quickly caught Ussher and eked out a lead, not that it surprised Ussher.
‘‘I knew Robyn was an amazing kayaker and she came past me quite early on and I was thinking, ‘Oh no, she’s going to put 20 minutes on me,’.
‘‘She’s really amazing, she’s just a machine, so I was surprised I was only [seven] minutes behind heading onto the final bike.’’