Lars Humer progressing to kayak after surf life-saving

Press, 4 March 1988, Page 20

Lars Humer progressing to kayak after surf life-saving

By

KEVIN TUTTY

Lars Humer has had a remarkable string of achievements in surf lifesaving this season, and it’s likely he will add a few more before the season ends. The Taylors Mistake and New Zealand representative. was one of the dominant figures at the New Zealand championships at Orewa Beach last week. He won the premier ironman event and picked up another gold, two silvers and two bronze medals at the championships. At the conclusion of the championships a six-man New Zealand team was

announced to compete in Australia later this moitii, and Humer’s highly successful week was crowded when he was named captain of the national tea mi Humer, aged 25, began the season by travelling to Australia, assisted with sponsorship from Moro. He was based at the Manly club in Sydney for seven weeks where he trained and competed with the leading surf lifesavers in New South Wales. He had success in interclub events there before returning to New Zealand where he utilised his period of intensive train-

ing by scooping, a handful of titles at both the Canterbury and South Island championships. Included in his successes in those championships were the ironman, and he went on to complete a treble of ironman titles at the national championships. Selection in the New Zealand team which will compete in the Australian championships in Sydney from March 18 to 20, and the world championships at Southport on Queensland's Gold Coast from March 22 to 27, was paramount. “I knew’ I had a good

chance of selection but I had to perform well at the national championships to earn my place.” Humer’s mind has turned now to completing his preparation for the Australian tour. He will strike strong opposition in the ironman, but is deterr mined not to be overawed by the Australian champion,_Trevor Hendy.

i ‘‘The Australians are not unbeatable. I have trained with Hendy and know he will be tough to beat, but I w'as pleased with my win against the Australian representative who competed in the ironman at our nationals. He was fifth in the Australian championships a year ago, and is the New South Wales ironman titleholder. That indicates I shouldn't be too far from the leaders,” said Humer. (Humer has not lost an ironman final in New Zealand this summer, and his activities have not been confined to that event. He is an accomplished allround competitor, illustrated by his list of medals at the New Zealand championships.

I His other gold medal last week was won in the Taylors Mistake open six man rescue-and-resuscita-tion team which established a New Zealand record and extended a fabulous rUn of wins in the event. (The team was the first six-man group to have a zero points deduction and its first place gave Taylors Mistake j!2

wins in the event since 1971. Humer’s silver medals were \von in the finals of the malibu board and surf ski relay, and his bronze medals were in the surf teams race and the Taplin relay. He withdrew from the final of the individual surf race because it was sandwiched between two other finals and he felt he was asking too much of himself to compete in three finals in the space of 40 minutes.

On the Australian tour, Humer is especially looking forward to the world championships. There will be up to 12 countries competing, and there will be events on the programme of which the New Zealanders have had little experience.

Because some of the countries entered do not compete in the surf, a number of events will be held in swimming pools. There will be no rescue and resuscitation event because the rules vary from country to country. “Australia will be the favourite to win the world championship but we have a well balanced team and we want to finish second if we can't pip the Australians,” said Humer.

In addition to being made captain of the New Zealand team Humer was

given another responsibility after the nationals. He was named coach of a development i squad, a group of the country's best teenage life-savers who will be groomed for full New Zealand honours a few years hence. | The aim is that they will assist New Zealand to beat; Australia for the first time in the Trans-Tasman series which is held every two years. The next scheduled clash is in 1989. Humer’s life has revolved around surf life-

saving this summer. He • has not had a job and has i survived on money he i earned as a swimming s coach in Dunedin last ; winter. When he returns from Australia he will ; move back to Dunedin to > his coaching position, ast sisting Duncan Laing, one of New Zealand’s leading i swimming coaches. ; Without ; sponsorship, i Humer said he would not have been able to survive and do the training that was necessary for him to achieve his many mile-

stones this season. I Humer, whose father is Austrian and mother German, began his aquatic career as a swimmer. He was a leading age-group swimmer winning ' New Zealand titles before progressing to surf life-sav-ing.

While he has enjoyed successes that many fellow competitors would envy, Humer now ; finds himself looking beyond surf life-saving to another sport.

For the last two winters he has kept fit by paddling in a kayak and this winter will devote' more time to kayak training in a bid to join the ranks of New Zealand’s elite ikayak paddlers who all began their careers as surf lifesavers.

“I’ll put a bit ' more energy into paddling and I may go to Gisborne or Auckland for a month to train with other paddlers. I have trained in Gisborne before with Alan Thompson and Grant Bramwell so know what is required to reach the level they have achieved.

Doubtless he will • apply the same single-minded dedication to kayaking that he has to swimming and surf life-saving. It is that type of dedication which has made world champions of Thompson} Bramwell, lan Fergussori and Paul MacDonald, and could well earn Humer similar accolades lin the future.