Matthew Clough. Photo supplied.After returning from the 2018 World Multisport Championships with two silver medals around his neck, Matthew Clough is aiming to go one better in 2019, twice.

Clough headed to Spain earlier this week to get ready to race in the event’s aquathlon on April 30 and cross triathlon on May 2, and with it being the final year the 18-year-old is eligible to race as an under-20, he’s got high hopes.

Finishing second in both last year means he’s motivated and driven to go for gold this year, although he knows that anything can happen come race day.

“It all comes down to that one day and that one race,” Clough said.

“Everyone over there wants to win, it’s just a matter of who wants it more on the day.”

And Clough knows what he’s talking about. It’s the fourth time he’s boarded a plane bound for the World Multisport Championships, but his build-up to the 2019 event has been a lot different to any of the others.

He’s no longer living at home with mum and dad in Ashburton. Having finished his schooling at Ashburton College at the end of last year, Clough now resides in Dunedin where he’s studying towards a B.Com. It’s a three year degree, but he’s hoping to add further study on to the end of it.

Balancing study and classes with training and student life isn’t easy, but Clough quickly found his groove and has been enjoying getting out and about on both bike and foot in a much different training environment than what he’d grown up with.

“I’m missing out on student life a bit, but I don’t mind with the bigger picture in mind,” Clough said.

He knows how important his study is and with that in mind, said the races in Spain will be his last for the year. For the rest of 2019 he wants to focus on his studies, but will keep up his training because he’s planning on starting 2020 with his second shot at the Coast to Coast.

Clough first tackled the Coast to Coast two-day event in 2018 and was the first schoolboy home, and second overall, and it’s the two-day event he’s eyeing up again in 2020.

That’s a few months off yet though, and for now his sights are firmly set where they should be – on the job at hand in Spain.

An aquathlon consists of a 1km swim followed by a 5km run, while the cross triathlon is effectively an off-road triathlon made up of a 1km swim, a 30km bike ride and an 8km off-road run.

The main difference racing in Spain offered was that the swim leg will take place in a river, where the water temperature is currently around 15 degrees Celsius, Clough said.

Racing will take place in the north-west of Spain, near Portugal, in Pontevedra, and although it’s a long way from home there will be plenty of people cheering Clough on from the sidelines.

He has his parents, his sisters, and his grandparents in Spain to support him in what could be his final shot at the world multisport championship title.

Clough said he has no idea what the future holds for him. He’s a multisporter who’s tried a few different racing formats over the years – earlier this month he raced in the New Zealand Xterra Championships in Rotorua where he came third.

Whether it’s triathlons, aquathlons, cross tris, ironmans or longer endurance events like the Coast to Coast, Clough doesn’t know which path his future will take. He said he likes trying new things, so where his name will pop up in years to come is anyone’s guess.

Erin Tasker © The Ashburton Guardian - 25 April 2019