Sam Long came out of the water minutes behind last Saturday and started the bike in last place, but in the end he raced to a spectacular second place at the PTO T100 Miami. The American did not let himself be fooled, starting full throttle on the bike and during the run, securing a podium finish.
Long owes that second place to his amazing physical performance, of course, but also to his mental strength. “My mantra was: ‘Race as if I’m winning the race’. I’ve noticed I’ve gotten the most out of myself when I’m winning because it feels good—the crowd cheers you on more and you feel like a stud. This time I created that energy even though I started the bike in last place.
“I unleashed an inner beast inside me and pushed myself to suffer and fight. At the end it paid off. It takes an extra kind of mental strength to do that; to go from being 22 seconds away from lapped out to then eventually passing those athletes. I am proud.”
