Heroic Samuels earns ticket to Olympics
Just weeks after having her appendix out, the Wanaka athlete finishes 15th in Madrid. Kevin Tutty reports. ‘‘When I overtook Daniela I could see she was struggling. I thought, ‘I’ve just got to push on. This is my ticket to London.’ ’’
Nicky Samuels has shown the fortitude of an ox to get a start in the London Olympic triathlon.
Five weeks after having her appendix removed, and after heart surgery earlier in the year, Samuels battled to 15th in the Madrid leg of the world triathlon series yesterday to ensure she will be on the start line at The Serpentine in London in August.
Samuels was a reserve for the triathlon at Beijing four years ago and was determined she was going to be in the team for London.
She was selected for the Games in April, but her place was dependent on the New Zealand women being ranked in the top eight nations after yesterday’s race.
The top eight nations are allowed three starters at London.
What it boiled down to was a battle between Samuels and Swiss woman, Daniela Ryf. Ryf had to finish in the top 11 to grab enough ranking points to keep Samuels out of the London race.
Wanaka-based Samuels said she passed Ryf early on the run and knew she had qualified for the Olympics.
‘‘When I overtook Daniela I could see she was struggling. I thought, ‘I’ve just got to push on. This is my ticket to London.’ ’’
Samuels has overcome two significant health obstacles this year, clearing both with aplomb, and hopes to have a smooth 10 weeks of training before the Olympics.
In February she had to have surgery for the second time in seven months for arrhythmia (an irregular heartbeat). She got that out of the way in time for the Sydney leg of the world series in April, the final qualification race for the New Zealand team.
Samuels, who is coached by Mark Elliott, got the tick of approval from the New Zealand selectors after that race but just five days later she was in hospital having her appendix removed.
But she is a resilient young woman if nothing else. Within a week she was walking again.
‘‘On day eight I went for an easy spin on the wind trainer, and tried to swim but had to get out of the pool. After two weeks I was training again.’’
She still has reminders of the operation that could have derailed her Olympic bid.
‘‘It’s five weeks since the operation and they say it’s between six and eight weeks before the stitches in the stomach dissolve. I’ve still got some tightness there and the abs are not as strong as they should be, but I am back to full training now.’’
Meanwhile, Christchurch triathlete Andrea Hewitt missed the podium for the first time in four world series races when she finished ninth in Madrid.
She was one of a number of athletes affected by allergies during the race, one of whom was admitted to hospital.
‘‘I had breathing trouble from about 200m into the swim but managed to get through.’’
Hewitt was one of 40 riders who finished the cycle leg together. She finished the run a minute behind winner Nicola Spirig, of Switzerland.
Her ninth place lifted her to No 2 in the world rankings.