TRIATHLON - That plane to Spain will take away Warriner's pain

Sam Warriner reckons the prospect of another battle through Customs for one more overseas destination this year has about as much appeal as a sand sandwich in the Sahara.
Six months of living out of a suitcase has taken a mental and physical toll on the 37-year-old. Right now there is no better place than home at Reotahi Bay, an idyllic settlement near the mouth of Whangarei Harbour.
But her impending flight to Madrid next week does have some appeal: it will plonk a very big exclamation mark on a remarkable year in the triathlon career of the former Whangarei schoolteacher, who is now the world No1.
Warriner will fly to Spain to pick up the ITU World Cup trophy. But as the ITU World Cup title will be superseded by a new Golden League world series next year, it will be a poignant celebration.
"When I think about it, it is a wicked achievement. I was at rock bottom after the [Beijing] Olympics. I have never been so devastated, and to pick myself up and achieve the goal of becoming world No1 after that is so satisfying," Warriner said.
"You wouldn't really believe how gutting the Olympic thing was.
"I was almost inconsolable really, just really low. But I am proud of the way I picked myself up from that to achieve my goal," she said.
It is also a journey that she has been made into a short documentary-style film. She has yet to watch the beginning of the film, as it starts with her disappointing result in Beijing.
"I keep bursting into tears at that bit. But we plan to show it in Whangarei to all my sponsors and supporters so they can see how we turned things around."
But even before she has finished basking in the glow of her ITU World Cup victory, Warriner is already thinking about next year.
The new Golden League series about to be launched might yet hand Warriner an opportunity to stake a claim as one of the best ever in the sport. The new series will decide a world championship title over six feature races, one a month, on a points system where only the best get invited to race.
That fits nicely into Warriner's modus operandi as an athlete. In three attempts at the one-off world championship race system she has managed one podium. In two Olympic Games (Beijing and Athens) she has failed to perform.
But in a series that will demand consistency, Warriner will be a threat.
"I was the most consistent performer in the ITU series. I think I am only the second woman to have six podiums in one season," Warriner said.
"Yes, the new Golden league might suit me but then it will suit the Emma Snowsills and Vanessa Fernandezes of this world too.
"I'm excited about the series but I know the best way for me to succeed is to do all the processes, so that I turn up to race in the best possible form," she said.
Details of the new series are expected to be announced at the ITU World series awards evening but early plans are for the six races to be held at six capital cities around the world.
That will add some more of that travel factor.
In the meantime, Warriner is about to launch into her training for next year.
She hasn't broken into a sweat since her last performance, the series-clinching win in Mexico three weeks back.