COVER GIRL-COURTNEY HANCOCK

COURTNEY HANCOCK

Photographer- Luke Marsden

COURTZ GOLD

A champion in or out of the water, Courtney Hancock talks about life, training, racing and being a better person.

Statistics in sport tell us the basics. Wins, losses and not much else. Nothing about the training, grit and determination in competition nor the highs and lows that affect the athletes. Over her 16 year career Courtney Hancock has won multiple individual and team events including four Australian Surf Swim titles, two Australian Ironwoman and three Kellogg’s NutriGrain Professional Ironwoman Series titles. Add to that her fourth win late last year in what is the Melbourne Cup of her sport - the lung searing, leg burning endurance race that is the Coolangatta Gold. Those highlights never reveal the endless hours of training away from the spotlight. The early morning sessions in or on the water, the gut wrenching gym sessions and the time spent giving her body the chance to recover before doing it all again. Her training and dedication truly epitomises the loneliness of being a long distance athlete. For Courtney, her path to greatness began at Nippers at her then home club in Sawtell. “The area has a huge love for surf lifesaving and some incredible athletes come from that area. We lived not far from the club so it was a natural place to hang out, have fun and compete,” said Courtney. “Mum and dad wanted my sisters and I to be safe in the water so the club was our playground. It probably clicked for me when I was seven and boys and girls would race over a mini course and I would aim to win every time. Some of the boys weren’t too impressed by that,” she giggled.

For someone who is the true definition of a ‘water baby’ there was one event she hated. “Swimming races! I could swim but in a surf race everyone is side by side, head to toe and you always get kicked in the face so I used to hang back and let everyone go past me. I ended up going to the NSW State Titles in the Under 12s and Dad knew my fear of getting hurt. His solution was very simple – go as fast as possible and get way in front so that they can’t kick or hit me. It worked and I won so that was a defining moment. I continued training and competing and my big breakthrough was at the Aussie

titles in the Under 16’s Ironwoman. I was still 15 so in some cases the girls were almost two years older. That win was a huge thing for the Sawtell Club which I loved because they were all the people I had grown up around and who were my friends. Money was never a big consideration for me but when I turned professional I won some prizemoney which helped me to train and continue doing what I love.” Her main idols in her formative years were the legendary Karla Gilbert and Trevor Hendy. “I have been competing at the highest level for 17 years and from a young age they were my idols. I count myself fortunate that we are now good friends.” For most elite athletes what compels them to quit is not competing but training so how does she cope? “In a weird way it’s not too bad because there are four disciplines – swimming, ski, board and running – so you get to do different things all the time. It helps to keep me fresh. I was in great shape before the last Coolangatta Gold but weirdly the first two hours felt terrible. But knew I had done the work and as the ocean is my happy place I pushed through the discomfort and after that I started to feel much better. Overall it was probably the best race I have ever done because of the way I finished.” Away from her busy life Courtney has done many things. A contestant in 2016 on ‘I’m A Celebrity, Get me Out of Here…’ in South Africa. “My time was short in there but it did teach me the importance of being selfless in such an environment. Treat people around you as you would a family and don’t expect everything to be exactly your way. I’ve also started ‘Courtz Crew’, my on-line mentoring course, which is available to anyone who is interested in achieving their goals. It’s not just for athletes but is more about life balance. Also at my club, Surfers Paradise, or anywhere I try and be available to help anyone if they ask me about my training, diet or competing. The aim of the course is to show how being a happy, positive person can have a great influence on those around you. I would have loved to have that opportunity and influence when I was young. Social media has made such a huge difference in how I can be reached too.”

She came to Northcliffe SLSC, which at that stage had the best iron men and women competitors, from her home town of Sawtell and realised immediately that this was different. “There were 10 top competitors in the club and I was the youngest. My sister Bronnie came the next year to join me but I quickly realised that going from Sawtell to Northcliffe, the rivalry was going to be very different. Competition makes you stronger and better but I was really blessed to come from a beautiful family who were always there to support me. Pat O’Keeffe, who passed away five years, was my coach then and he saw potential in me plus he and my father, Richard, got on really well. Three training sessions a day and at that stage I had barely paddled a ski but ended up winning my first Australian