Macca’s "I’m Here to Win" – A Triathlon Tell-All with Bite

Macca is one of the most polarising athletes in the Triathon world. Talk Macca to anyone for long and they will give you an opinion about what he has done, or how he did it or what he said after he did it. From his cocky beginning in the Ironman world in Kona to the spat with German tri legend Normann Stadler to the much publicised mugging of Crowie in the 2010 Hawaiian Ironman, there have been few athletes to cause so many comments as the man who currently reigns as the number one Ironman athlete in the world. 



And that’s what makes the idea of the book very compelling. The Macca camp have put their heads together and have come up with this book that almost explains the vagaries of a man we love to watch and read in this sport.

So how does the book fare?

To be honest, generally the sporting biography genre doesn’t really do it for me, often being filled with rambles from this tournament or that match.There are exceptions to this of course but you don’t often get a full insight and when you do the athlete is long gone from the sport. In the case of "I’m here to win" you get something a little different. 

Not only do you get an insight into a triathlon life less ordinary by the man himself, you also get tips and tricks from a guy who has made a successful living out of being a pro triathlete. Macca provides his "(w)insights" as the book progresses so that the reader can tap into some of the concepts that he has used to his advantage. Added to that you get a list a mileages that Macca clocks for each season. And believe me it adds up. He might just be the biggest jetsetter the sport has seen.

Some of the highlights of this book were:

• The early days – It took Macca a number of years to become an overnight success. If this book is to work effectively then the rags to riches sentiment is levelled early with Macca explaining it wasn’t all smooth sailing but he was "too proud to go home".
• The hyperbole – Macca is a boxing fanatic and freely admits to comparing the sports quite a lot. So, in true boxing fashion, Macca lets fly boxing style on a few incidents in his life. He goes so far as to anoint himself as the Frank Sinatra of triathlon. It is a little over the top but it makes the read all the more entertaining.
• Honesty – Macca lifts the lid on his fall out with the powerful Stewart coaching stable. He also talks the reader through his unsuccessful bid to become an Olympian in 2000 and gives an insight into how tough he did it after the death of his mother. In all of these instances no punches are pulled and you’re left wondering little.
• The Showmanship – You might have got some idea about how Macca can talk in the interview we did with him earlier in the year. When you speak to him as an interviewer you quickly get a sense that there is a guy with an edge. The text reveals some of this as you walk through the transition area with him pre race and you are given an idea as to how he "used the German press in my favour". Once again these are the things you might never see in a current athlete who releases book but Macca narrates them as if all along this was just a cunning plan.
• The masterpiece – Macca has used this as the chapter title to his 2010 opus in Kona. Where, according to the man himself, "so let’s be ready for a war, let the best man win". Easily for me the best chapter in the book. If he hadn’t made the call in July about his intent you might have written this off as rubbish. But knowing full well he was in recruitment mode and that the plan came off, adds a sweeter sense of wonderment that this race was orchestrated.

This book could so easily blend into the crowd as just another ‘grab for the buck whilst on top’ kind of deal. But the structure of the book and ease of the narrative provide a bit more of an in-depth back drop into the life and times of triathlon’s walking headline. Sure, this is not high art and the book won’t make a classics list but it is honest and ballsy and reflects the guy who is the subject. The perfect travel companion, especially if you are race bound.