My Optimistic Outlook for 2004

author : Daniel Clout

comments : 0

Don’t forget this is an incredibly big year for sport with the Olympics back in Athens where the modern Olympics started, and especially triathlon to make its second appearance.

I hope you are as pumped up about this year as I am. If you aren’t you better change your attitude! I am really optimistic about 2004 both for my own personal goals and looking forward for to an out standing year for sports in general. Especially with the Tour De France in July where history may be made with Armstrong doing the unbelievable. Don’t forget this is an incredibly big year for the sport with the Olympics back in Athens where the modern Olympics started, and especially triathlon to make its second appearance in this biggest spectacle of sport.

I’m stoked to announce that I won my first race of the New Year on January 25th in my hometown of Palmerston North, New Zealand, winning overall by a decent 6:25 minutes. I was extremely psyched for this race, especially to redeem myself somewhat of my failure at Tri Worlds in December. This puts me in high spirits for this year where I have a big year planned.  Currently contending with my New Zealand season, I am training well, where I look to perform well at New Zealand Triathlon nationals later this month and Duathlon Nationals in March. I then switch hemispheres by going back to America to get an all year round triathlon season. May is going to be my biggest month as I am competing in both the Triathlon World Champs in Madeira Islands, Portugal and Duathlon World Champs in Geel, Belgium for America. After that my plan is to continue my success at the USA Duathlon nationals and capture gold in my age group for my 3rd year in a row in ‘The City Of LA Triathlon’ Among many other races and a tremendous amount of training I will be confronting should set myself up well for the future and keep me out of mischief – well most of the time.

At the moment in New Zealand there is a lot of focus and hype for the “Coast to Coast” which is unofficially the Multisport World Champs every year held in February. This year the interest is bigger than ever with special awareness on an athlete everybody is watching with immense intensity. Steve Gurney, our Kiwi legend multisport athlete is backing himself to win this demanding race for his 10th time, which involves running, cycling and kayaking from the West Coast to the East Coast in the South Island of New Zealand. Not an easy feat going over the Southern Alps even for a fit young bugger, yet Gurney at age 40 reckons it’s his race saying “without sounding too cocky nobody is going to beat me – I just want this race too much” Good on ya mate, I hope you do win!

Do you reckon Lance Armstrong will do the absolutely astonishing act of becoming the first ever cyclist to win Tour De France 6 times in a row? I sure do and anticipating he will to concrete his cycling prowess and authority as the best ever athlete this world has ever seen. There is no athlete I respect more. Armstrong is the best role model anyone could have for he shows nothing is impossible that any adversity can be overcome with grand determination, discipline and will power. He sure gives all Cancer victims hope to overcome it and gives every athlete the ability to dream big, seizing everyday to reaching our potential which ultimately he demonstrates is only as high as we can dream. I personally think Armstrong’s cancer would have killed the average person, yet he’s a fighter – bloody phenomenal human being!!! So be sure to watch the Tour this July for glorious pleasure in witnessing a once in a lifetime occurrence to conquer the most grueling race in the world 6 times over, what a freak of nature! For extra inspiration I highly recommend you read his books!!!

I can’t wait for the Olympic this year. Athens is going be a really special place for it, with it being the birthplace for the modern Olympics. I love everything about the Olympics, but there is one thing for sure. I will definitely be clued to the T.V for the Triathlon. It was a big success when Triathlon first appeared at the 2000 Sydney Olympics since hundreds of thousands lined the streets and billions watching it on TV all over the world, being enticed by this sport unlike any other. Who’s going to win is anybodies guess. I didn’t expect Simon Whitfield of Canada or Brigitte McMahon of Switzerland to take the honours. I always love an element of surprise so I just hope this race will be intense and unpredictable yet I want the best and most deserving athletes to win.

Well that’s my thought on individual sport this year. You must agree with me that his year is going to be an awe-inspiring year with so many speculator events unraveling, where no doubt the legends are out to achieve massive milestone. So am I as I’m out to increase my ability and succeed as well as I can and more since I am never satisfied because there is always room for improvement!!!  I hope you have lined up an exiting and positive year with lots to do.

If the mind can believe it and the heart can conceive it, then you can achieve it.

Daniel Clout (Kiwi fella who speaks his mind!)

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date: September 4, 2004