TRIATHLON - Training role worth the jibes

CONSIDERING Lee Greer's speed as he hurtles into a triathlon these days, you'd be hard pushed to call him a hack.
But thanks to the latest development in his burgeoning triathlon career, calling Greer a hack is about to be more accurate than expected.
The 21-year-old has just been signed on as a training partner for Sam Warriner for the business end of her build up to the Beijing Olympics later this year. Now all Greer's so-called mates have jumped on the opportunity to take the mickey.
"I'm now the training b***h or training hack, depending on who you talk to," Greer said.
Chances are that Greer will have the last laugh. As Warriner's new training buddy Greer will shelve his building apprenticeship and head to Canada for the World Triathlon Championships then go to France to train with the New Zealand elite team.
His schedule will depend entirely on Warriner's training needs. He will be there to chase or be chased, to flog or be flogged and to try to make sure she turns up at the start line in Beijing in the hunt for a medal.
"Hamish Carter used a couple of guys before he went to Athens. That seemed to work for him so I guess the plan is to try and do the same for Sam," he said. "Hopefully this will open some doors. There's a lot of clubs in France that pay you fulltime to compete on a grand prix circuit. I will just see how it goes. It is my first opportunity to train without working fulltime as well."
Greer's new role has also added some extra spice to the Whangarei Triathlon at Ruakaka this weekend. Sunday's race is Warriner's first competitive hit out for the season and she is expected to go head to head with Greer for line honours.
"Apparently Sam is doing a big workload in training at the moment, but so am I. It will be kind of interesting and a bit of fun on Sunday. I plan to get a lead on the swim, try and extend it on the bike and then see what happens on the run. Actually I plan to extend my lead on the run as well, but who knows what will happen."