In 'Never, Ever Give Up?' John Hellemans looks back on his long career
in triathlon, initially as a successful competitor, and subsequently as
a coach, sports medicine doctor and advisor for some of New Zealand's
best-performing triathletes, including Erin Baker, Kris Gemmell and
Andrea Hewitt. In this frank, entertaining and often poignant account he
provides a fascinating insight into the professional triathlon world and
its personalities, including athletes and other coaches. His exploration
of the compulsive attraction of one of the toughest sports, which has
kept him hooked into his 60s, will appeal to anyone with an interest in
human nature as well as to sports enthusiasts. Adding context and
subtext to his sporting career, Hellemans relives significant episodes
from his family life in Holland where he grew up under the threat of the
Cold War, and his adventures as a young doctor in rural New Zealand,
adjusting to a different culture and its customs. A former competitive
swimmer, he was captivated by a TV broadcast of the 1979 Les Mills New
Zealand Ironman Championships in Auckland and his passion for the new
sport was ignited. Along with Erin Baker, whom he coached in her early
career, Hellemans competed at the forefront of triathlon as it swept the
world, experimenting with training strategies and technical innovations.
Struggling to balance his medical and family responsibilities with
professional competition, he made a successful move into coaching and
mentoring. As well as relating his own trials, triumphs and tribulations
in the sport, Hellemans describes the courage and determination of
athletes he has coached, as they overcame injury and other setbacks to
compete at world level, and he shares the excruciating intensity of
watching when they sometimes came to grief. 'Never, Ever Give Up?'
explores the motivation that kept Hellemans going back for more and that
saw him completing the gruelling Hawaii Ironman in searing heat at the
age of 60. Less than two years later, he suffered an exercise-induced
cardiac event after a local cross-country run. Was his body telling him
that it was time to give up?
