The Rise and Rise of Nicky Samuels

When Nicky Samuels was, early in 2014, left out of the New Zealand team for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, few would have anticipated the season the gutsy 31 year old Wanaka athlete would go on to enjoy.

Finishing the year a career high 5th in the world rankings must have been the furthest thing from her mind as she contemplated missing a pinnacle event in 2014.  In fact regardless of what Glasgow may or may not have had in store, you would have struggled to find anyone in the sport brave enough to predict a breakthrough season that would include her first ever World Triathlon Series podiums (Stockholm and Edmonton) and the emergence of an athlete who transitioned from strong ‘swim/biker’ to ‘genuine contender’ on the big days.

Despite her subsequent nomination by the Tri NZ Selection Committee (who revisited the selection process themselves without the need for arbitration), the bottom line is that Samuels had not met the criteria for automatic nomination to the NZOC.  Andrea Hewitt was the only New Zealand woman to achieve this.  This is not to offer up any judgment of Samuels but rather it paints the picture as to where the determined athlete has come from in a remarkable 2014.

“2014 was yet another rollercoaster year for me, it seems to happen all too frequently in triathlon,” said Samuels.  “Yes, it started on a bad note with my “non-selection” for the Commonwealth Games.  At that point I really struggled with what to do and was sick a lot, with decisions on my career looming and the stress of trying to sort through it all. I was indeed somewhat underwater.”

“Slowly I got a rough plan together and worked out what I wanted to do and where to go from there.  I decided to do what was best for me and that was train in Font Romeu.  I set myself up, but once there I really struggled with the programme Jon (Brown) was setting for me and I was well off the times I would normally be hitting up there.  I think it was hard for us to work together without him actually seeing what I was physically going through or capable of.  I was in okay shape going into Glasgow but not top shape which is where you want to be for that race.”

History tells us that the original selection committee overturned their own decision and included Samuels in the team for Glasgow, but that was still no precursor to the amazing climb up the world rankings that would follow.

Glasgow was not the race Samuels was hoping it would be (finishing 10th) but she was not alone with the New Zealand team turning in a disappointing display, returning without a medal for the first time at this level of the sport.  The closest was Andrea Hewitt’s fourth place finish.

There was much soul searching done by the Kiwis post Glasgow and Samuels was amongst it, leaving disappointed but with a stronger than ever desire to put things right and show the detractors that the Kiwis still rank amongst the best in the world.

“After the Games and spending a bit of time with Jon (Brown) there, we worked through a few things, went back to the drawing board and I got back into training pretty quickly.  I had a great base by the time I left Font Romeu and it needed some fine tuning.  When I finally got to spend some time with Jon and we could work through my programme - changing things together, we just gelled for nine days in Banyoles.  I was training really well, especially my running which is always the weak point for me.  Jon did nearly every run with me.  He was reminding me of little things with my technique with the aim of being more efficient.  To have him along beside me at whatever pace I needed to run at was so perfect.  I know it was just nine days but just a couple of small things we worked on in that time really helped.”

It was this time that would indeed be the making of Nicky Samuels, the complete triathlete, moving from a swimmer/biker to be respected to an athlete who must be feared once off the bike.

Jon Brown is the running guru amongst the brains trust at Tri NZ High Performance, himself a decorated former marathoner with two fourth place finishes at Olympic Games.  His CV of athletes includes former world champion Simon Whitfield (Canada). Brown - like Samuels, credits the time post Glasgow working directly with the determined Samuels at the team’s base in Banyoles as crucial to her making the breakthroughs later in the season.

The quietly spoken Brown was typically humble when quizzed about his work with Samuels, with the Tri NZ HP Coach dismissing any talk of a ‘silver bullet’ solution.“Lots of people have been asking me about this as if looking for some magic ingredient but essentially it just came down to correcting (she calls it nagging – in the nicest way!) her running posture and precise execution of her quality sessions.  I'd run with her pretty much every day and give feedback and suggestions on how she could make changes to her form; all very small and subtle but effective when done 'on the hoof' as she can then capture the precise amount of change and lock it in her head.

“Equally important though, was just being there to adjust training daily as needed and keep the intensities precise for every workout.  This ensured there wasn't any over doing of one workout so she was compromised for the following day.  Pretty much every training day she had in Spain went perfectly to plan and all accumulated to give her greater confidence in where she was at.   Another thing we did too before Stockholm was a tweak to her race taper which has been a bit of an experiment over the course of the season.”

Respected triathlon commentator Barrie Shepley has been around the sport longer than most and has certainly seen more races than anyone during his time in the sport as a coach, mentor and commentator.  He also knows Brown from his previous work with world champion Whitfield in Shepley’s home nation of Canada.

“Rarely do you get to see seasoned triathletes have a truly second act in their careers, but Nicky Samuels is definitely in the middle of a great transition.  After many years of being known as a great swim-biker, this year she completed the deal against some of the deepest ITU fields in history.

“The only thing that is really different that I can see is her new run coach, Jon Brown.  I got to know Jon when he worked with Simon Whitfield in Canada, and because he is such a quiet humble man, he rarely gets his appropriate recognition.  The athletes certainly appreciate Jon's wisdom, and Canada's loss is Nicky Samuel's gain.  The confidence that Jon's running programme has given Samuels, could be a major factor in 2015.

“As a drop-dead stud swim-biker, the new found confidence in her run now makes Samuels a threat, no matter how the race might unfold in 2015.”

For Samuels there is no doubt it has been a turning point.  The back to back podiums in Stockholm then in the Grand Final in Edmonton, have given her the confidence to mix it on the big days, and to ponder the biggest of all with renewed enthusiasm.

“Those results have definitely proven to myself that a medal in Rio is not out of the question.  If you can medal in the Grand Final when everything is riding on it, then why not do it in the Olympics!?  Since the London Olympics and reviewing my result and build up, I decided to commit to the next four years with Rio as my ultimate goal.   I have already been working towards it for the past two years and now there is less than two to go, it comes around so fast!  After Rio there are no plans.”

Samuels leaves the last word for her supporters.

“I would love to thank those people who supported me in my selection to the Commonwealth Games because if it wasn’t for them and their input, it is highly likely I wouldn’t have continued with triathlon and I would have never seen these results.”



ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Edmonton, Canada. Credit: Delly Carr / ITU


Originally published in New Zealand Triathlon & Multisport Issue 100, January 2015