Triathlon: Samuels to make most of Games reprieve

Nicky Samuels. Photo / Greg Bowker

She needed an 11th hour reprieve to earn a ticket to Glasgow but Nicky Samuels denies there is a point to prove during Thursday's triathlon.

While the winner of the women's race will claim the first gold medal of the 20th Commonwealth Games, some would describe Samuels as simply fortunate to feature on the start line.

The national selectors might be among that bunch, having initially omitted Samuels from the Kiwi team, but the Wanaka-based triathlete reckoned her successful appeal against that decision only stated the obvious - that she's just as deserving of her place as the rest of the six-strong squad.

With that feeling in mind, Samuels will hardly be focusing on settling any scores on Thursday night's (NZT) race in Hamilton, just outside of Glasgow, instead opting to concern herself with personal targets.

"There's only so much you can do," she said. "You're not racing to prove a point - you're racing to the best of your ability.

"It's about a personal thing, not so much about not getting the selection in the first place. I want to do the best I can and we'll see how it goes."

Samuels' chances of achieving her best were certainly hindered by having to appeal her selection, being delayed a few weeks in her preparation and forced to start on the back foot. It was also a mental impediment when, without a guaranteed future in the national programme, she was left doubting her involvement in the sport.

"I guess I questioned myself when I had that appeal," Samuels said. "I didn't really know what to do with my future.

"Then everyone stuck behind me and said, 'You've got to go for it, because this is your opportunity and you should be there. Black and white on paper, you've performed better than others that were selected'."

Though that support perhaps never extended to teammates Andrea Hewitt and Kate McIlroy - Samuels declined the chance to name-check the pair when quizzed on the topic - the trio of Kiwi women will be working towards a common goal. The selection saga has been "swept under the carpet", according to Samuels, and the key for New Zealand triathlon was to put at least one athlete on the podium.

"Ultimately, we want to get a medal for our sport and for future funding and for our country," Samuels said. "It's an individual race and we're out there on our own to do the best possible race we can but, in saying that, if there's a medal chance we need to grab it."

The London Olympian was reticent when asked to consider her own hopes of emerging with that medal but, as her appeal process showed, no outcome is outside the realm of possibility.

"Anything can happen when you line up - there's bike crashes, swims can go out the back door for some people, so you never know," she said. "You're always in with a chance."