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MY OPTIMISTIC OUTLOOK FOR 2004
I hope you have lined up an exiting and
positive year with lots to do.
by Daniel Clout,
DanielClout.net
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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