Triathlon: Carter embraces the rest of his life

Hamish Carter says racing for his country has been the highlight of his career. Now he wants to have some fun. Picture / Mark Mitchell

To say Hamish Carter is having few regrets about his decision to retire from elite triathlon is to somewhat skirt around the issue.

The man who stepped down last weekend after securing a silver at the world championships in Lausanne has been experiencing many emotions since the call, but it must be said that melancholy and sadness have not been among them.

New Zealand's most enduring international triathlete, Carter has instead embraced the career change like a long-lost friend, cavorting around as if a weight's been lifted from his shoulders and rejoicing in his new family-oriented environment.

Sad? Reflective? "You must be joking," he said yesterday. "I'm relieved that the serious part of it's over. The next part of my life is an exciting time for me and I'm looking forward to every waking hour of it.

"I feel happy that I've enjoyed an awesome career, and that I've represented my country. That's been the highlight of my career without a doubt - racing for New Zealand.

"But I think it's a good time to step down. I've found it very hard being away from the family ... that was taking a real toll."

Carter emphasised that he would continue to race in New Zealand when possible and in other events outside the world cup circuit, and that he was already targeting the Xterra race in Hawaii in nine weeks, and a possible Coast-to-Coast appearance.

He said the Coast-to-Coast type adventure race, from the West Coast's Kumara Beach to Christchurch's Sumner Beach, was exactly the sort of event that he was intending to throw himself into, and something he'd followed closely throughout his competitive career.

"I think it would be an awesome experience, the Coast-to-Coast," said Carter. "I really want to do that before I'm completely cooked.

"These are real adventure races; they're a little less officious, a little bit more enjoyment-oriented, and they're something I'm really hoping to have a crack at. I've watched the Coast-to-Coast over the years and have always wanted to have a go."

The 35-year-old said he could feel his passion and hunger diminishing on the circuit this year and was almost going to chuck it in before last weekend's world championship event, before being persuaded to have a final fling by manager Roger Mortimer.

"I knew my career was coming to the end; I could sort of feel it," he said. "I wanted to get out with a bit of dignity, before I got swamped by the next generation coming through.

"A few things had hit home for me. When I won that World Cup race [at Edmonton] in July I felt quite unexcited about it as I crossed the line. I mean it was good but there was no buzz. I thought that was a bad sign, to put it mildly.

"Then I went over to Europe and was hurting during a run and found myself thinking, 'I could just slow down here a little bit here and it wouldn't really matter'.

"Now, that's not how you should be thinking. It's not a good way to be."

It was, however, understandable for a veteran of one of the world's most gruelling sports, a man whose career began back in 1992, and has encompassed 15 world championship campaigns, including 10 top-10 finishes and three visits to the podium.

Carter said he was worried about people taking this the wrong way, but that ever since he won the gold medal at Athens, everything had felt anti-climactic.

"Ever since Athens everything else has just paled into insignificance. Even getting second at the worlds was quite ho-hum in a way."