Emotional rollercoaster for NZ BMX coach

It was an emotional inaugural women's BMX final at the Olympics for the Canadian they call Big Rig.

No wonder soon after possibly the most draining 35 seconds of his life, New Zealand coach Ken Cools was moved to utter the four immortal words: "I need a beer."

Here's why. Cools' Kiwi charge, 20-year-old Kawerau hotshot Sarah Walker had just missed out on a medal, finishing a fraction of a second out of third in a desperate finish. In a harum-scarum final the svelte New Zealander had her chance, but paid the price for being beaten out of the blocks in the early charge.

Here's also why. Cools' younger sister Sammy was in the race, representing Canada, a situation he's adamant didn't cause any divided loyalties, but certainly kept him busy trying to track everyone's progress.

"Sarah is my athlete, Samantha is my sister, and that's where it's going to be," said Cools of the bizarre situation he faced in the final. "I train my athlete to do the best she can possibly do and I cheer my sister on to do the best that she can do."

But the man who was brought in at late notice to take over the Kiwi BMX programme this year conceded it had been a draining final at the Laoshan complex, all 30-odd seconds of it.

"I need a beer," he said with a grin.

But for the record Cools' focus remains very much on Walker when she's racing, even if li'l sis' is in the field.

"I watch Sarah," he said. "Luckily the two of them are pretty fast, usually out there next to each other, and I've got two eyes... but I need to watch my athlete because I need to be able to tell her what she needs to do tighten up for the next race.

"If I just watch my sister race I'm not seeing what my athlete does. I watch my athlete because she comes first."

And she will for the immediate future, with Cools confirming he will sign on to run the New Zealand programme for "at least" another four years, shifting here permanently in October.

"The New Zealand people and organisation, [Bike NZ high performance director] Mark Elliott, have all been incredibly awesome towards me. I feel like I'm fitting in, and I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with these two (Marc Wilers was also in Beijing) and try to develop the rest of the country, so next time around we have more than a two-man team going to the Olympics."

Cools also believes there is the material in New Zealand to build a successful programme that could also challenge for medals in four years' time in London.

"There's definitely a lot of raw talent. That needs to be found, needs to be developed, and needs to have some proper coaching. Hopefully that's where I come in and help out.

"Marc and Sarah have definitely put New Zealand on the map in BMX, and just because you're from a small island doesn't mean nothing. There's talent, there are a lot of good tracks and Mark Elliott and the rest of Bike NZ are just a phenomenal crew. We'll see what we can do."

Cools also declared BMZ a massive winner at the Games, with its "sick" moves and "big air" catching on immediately with the Olympic sports watching public, both live and on the box.

"There's action-packed drama going out on the track. That's what BMX is. You see most of these sports, and some I hate to say it are a little bit boring at times. In most of them you have a winner right from the get-go, but in this just because you're first to the turn doesn't mean anything.

"There's action, there's moves all the way round the track. I think the rest of the world is fizzing about this."

And, as Cools says, for so many kids around the world, their first bike is a BMX. "Hopefully this really gets our sport going. It's about time."

Walker and Willers also felt their hip new sport was there to stay at the Games.

Said Willers: "The bosses are saying it's been good worldwide, and I reckon it will be in for a whiile now. Plus, everyone back home who's never seen BMX races are all psyched about it."

Walker agreed: "I think it was an awesome event. The spectators loved it and hopefully everyone watching at home did as well."

- © Fairfax NZ News