Lewis takes court in new field of excellence

Former Northland and junior New Zealand squash representative Brent Lewis thought he was a pretty good athlete until he took up triathlon 18 months ago.
Having swapped his squash racket for swimming, cycling and running in triathlons, the 24-year-old is now gearing up for his first National Triathlon Championships, which doubles as the 2011 OTU Triathlon Oceania Championships in Wellington tomorrow, as part of a small but strong Northland contingent.
The competitive streak that saw him push for national honours in squash until giving up the sport when he was 19, has surfaced again now he has started racing triathlons.
"I hate losing and want to win even if I know that may not be likely this year as I am so new to the sport. But I really enjoy triathlon, and with the world championships in New Zealand next year, I would like to keep training and win those... but I will see how it all goes," Lewis said.
The Whangarei Tri Club member found it difficult to adjust to not being the best in a sport after winning in squash for so long.
He gave up squash because if he was to progress any further and turn professional, he'd have to move away from Northland.
"I didn't want to do that, so I gave it away. A year and a half ago, I got back from overseas and was a bit unfit, and started swimming and running and thought I'd give triathlon a go. I liked the idea of the challenge but didn't realise how hard it was. I thought I was a good athlete but realised I wasn't when I saw the good guys in action."
For the past year, Lewis has slogged out training sessions with other Whangarei triathletes but mostly on his own, and now feels ready to compete against the country's best.
"I just want to have a good race down in Wellington. Whenever I race something seems to go wrong, so basically I just want everything to go to plan."
Lewis will line up in the 20-24 age group in Wellington tomorrow for the 1500m swim, 40km bike and 10km run. He will be joined by other serious Northland contenders including Alexi Petrie and Elliot Frizelle, racing in the elite male under-23 age group, up a division from last year.
Simone Ackermann will line up in the elite under-23 female race. All three triathletes are now based in Auckland studying.
Wanaka-based Nicky Samuels, originally from Northland, will be strong in the women's race as she continues to stake a claim for a spot in the 2012 NZ Olympics team.
Meanwhile, Jenny Barrett will challenge herself in the 35-39 year-age group at her first nationals, after training with recent Ironman NZ champion Samantha Warriner and her Sweat7 team.
Whangarei Tri Club stalwarts Mike Hardiman and Michael Gowing will be in the men's 40-44 and 50-54 divisions respectively.
The Nationals get underway tomorrow, at Wellington Harbour.