Triathlon: Road to Gold

By EUGENE BINGHAM

Churning through the warm Mediterranean Sea in his second Olympic triathlon race, Hamish Carter did not feel good.

"I was really struggling in the water," said Carter. "I worked really hard on my swim but I just have not been swimming that well.

"But as soon as I got on the bike, I knew I was okay. I felt pretty strong."

So strong that he went on to win the race, improving 25 places on his race in Sydney four years ago when he was widely expected to to collect gold.

On the morning before Thursday's race, Carter was so laid back - ambling to the start as if he did not have a care in the world - that some wondered if was racing.

Mark Elliott, manager of the New Zealand triathlon team, remarked before the start that Carter and the other New Zealanders, Bevan Docherty and Nathan Richmond, had woken up in a calm mood.

"It's as if they're going down to a race at Mission Bay," said Elliott.

To remain calm, even when the first leg of the race was not going well, is a sign of a new attitude and level of maturity achieved by Carter, 33.

At Sydney, he was fixated about winning, tense, and focused on himself.

He came to Athens with a new attitude, less pressure and new motivations.

Part of the change has come because he has become a father since then. He and his wife, Marisa, have had two children, which he says has given him a new perspective on life.

There was also the emergence of Docherty, who had overtaken Carter as the dominant triathlete in the country, particularly when he won the world championship this year.

In a few years at the top, Docherty achieved what Carter had not been able to do during a 12-year career.

Despite having more top placings at major events such as the world championships than anyone, Carter had never won.

"If Bevan had not been racing so well, I don't think I would have improved my form so much," he said after his Olympic triumph.

"He has set the standard. He has been the guy I wanted to beat more than anyone."

The ironic thing about Docherty overtaking Carter was that it took the pressure of expectation away from the Auckland veteran, allowing him to enjoy his Olympic race.

Sports psychologist Gary Hermansson, in Athens with the New Zealand Olympic team, said being able to focus on performance rather than fretting about what was going to happen in a race was one of the hardest - but also one of the most important - parts of being an elite athlete.

"I think that in Sydney, Hamish went in with high expectations on him and my hunch is that he spent half the race worrying about what the result would be," said Hermansson "The difference is between thinking about the result and thinking about performance."

Having a family could also be a turning point for athletes.

To some athletes, winning was the most important thing in their lives. "But when you have children and a family, you know that while you would like to do well, if you don't there are other things in life."

Carter's newfound attitude has extended to his preparation.

Asked what the key to victory was, he rubbished the notions of a scientific approach.

"The only key is just bloody hard work," he said. "All the science is rubbish; not rubbish, but it doesn't matter. When it comes down to it, you've just got to be fit and got to feel good on the day, and I did. I just simplified everything and enjoyed the moment and it worked."

Elliott, who coaches Docherty as well as being high performance manager, said both medallists had worked extremely hard to get where they had.

"Everything has gone perfectly for the last six weeks. Nothing has gone wrong in our build- up. We've had a really low-key build-up. The guys have had fun together."

Seven weeks ago, the team moved into a French training base, staying in the rugby clubrooms of the town of Sauvagnon in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains. The nearby mountains provided the perfect hard riding terrain that helped them deal with the steep incline on the course at Athens.

They were also able to engender a team spirit, cooking for each other and enjoying each other's company.

Elliott said Docherty and Carter had also pushed each other in training.

Docherty said that while the two of them had wanted to beat each other, there was also an element of co-operation in the race.

"We didn't really talk about tactics but I would far rather have had a fellow countryman winning than someone else. Deep down we were looking after each other."