Matthew Clough. Image supplied.Ashburton multisporter Matthew Clough had two gold medals in his sights when he boarded a plane bound for Denmark this week.

His destination was the ITU World Multisport Championships where he will face a gruelling two-race schedule, but he was ready and hopeful of what he could achieve in his third shot at becoming the world’s best in his age group.

In 2016 at the world championships in Mexico the 17-year-old Ashburton College Year 13 student was third in the aquathlon, and a year later in Canada he was second. From there, there is only one way to go, and that is first.

An aquathlon is a 1km open water swim and a 5km run, but this year he has added a second race to his itinerary and it is one he can’t wait to line up for.

Clough wanted to give the cross triathlon a go at last year’s world champs, but wasn’t old enough. This year he is old enough though and he will be one of eight athletes lining up at the start line in the 18-19 year old age group.

A cross triathlon is effectively a cross country triathlon. It is a 1km open water swim, a 28km mountain bike ride and a 10km run, and it is actually his favoured event.

“I’m really aiming for a lot. It’s been my goal for a while to be world champion in my age group and now I’m doing that cross tri too and I can’t think of anything better than coming back with two gold medals,” Clough said.

He had no goals in terms of times because speed could be dictated by the conditions on the day.

“I sort of have this thing where no matter where I’ve placed, if I know I’ve done everything I can and have given it 100 per cent, I’ve pretty much won,” Clough said.

Clough said his love for triathlon dated back to his first Weetbix Try-athlon and the Mid Canterbury primary schools’ triathlon where kids had to swim a lap of the Hampstead School pool, then bike around the block and run around the school.

A competitive swimmer growing up, it was in the pool where Clough claimed his first national titles and medals.

“I was swimming and swimming and swimming and I just sort of got sick of swimming every single day, and thought I needed to find something else,” Clough said.

After reading a story about Methven multisporter Braden Currie, Clough decided multisport was that something else.

Currie – a past Coast to Coast winner and world beater in multisport – became his idol.

“I love Braden and the things he’s doing and the way he portrays himself as an athlete,” Clough said.

But he doesn’t want to be like him, he has dreams of one day being even better than his idol.

He has worked hard on every aspect of his sport. Swimming and running came naturally, and his biking legs have continued to improve with time.

“My coach tells me if anyone asks me what my best discipline is, tell them it’s triathlon. You can’t afford to have a bad leg,” Clough said.

A bad leg in Denmark could the difference between finishing on the podium, and not, and with a big few months on the world stage ahead of him, Clough is hoping to start the way he hopes to continue.

Clough will set sail again in October, this time bound for Maui, Hawaii, for the World Xterra Championships, and before that he’ll attend Xterra Townsville in Australia to help him acclimatise to the warmer conditions.

By Erin Tasker © The Ashburton Guardian - 5 July 2018