26th October 2012

Race report for the ITU Paratriathlon World Championship Final in Aukland New Zealand

Israel – April
In April at the European Championships I was beaten by a new athlete from Italy called Michele Ferrarin by four minutes. I had given one of the best performances of my Paratriathlon career and was ok to receive the Silver medal to a faster competitor. These occasions can bring up two actions.

To this presence of a faster competitor as an excuse as to why I will only achieve a Silver in the World Championships…or…To this presence of a faster competitor as a challenge to improve and get faster myself so as to achieve and win the Gold medal in the World Championship.

Excuses come into our life in all aspects and it is how we see them and treat them. Through my accident and rehabilitation I recognise what is a fact and what is an excuse and where I see it as an excuse I convert it into a challenge.
I spent the next six months working on my challenge to increase my performance so as to put me into a position to win.
The hard work of training sessions and workouts left me in my best physical form and ready to compete. My mental visualisation over the last couple of days directed me to giving the best and most efficient performance and crossing the line with full satisfaction, which did not necessarily mean I had won but that I had performed to my best ability. This visualisation gave me the confidence, inner peace and satisfaction that I needed for my race.