SM
Barcelona vs. Brann: 1 hr 41 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

'I want to be the greatest' - speedway's Ironman Woffinden targets seven titles

:Headline: 'I want to be the greatest' - speedway's Ironman Woffinden targets seven titles: ID:352710: from db_amp
The Scunthorpe rider won his third world title in October and is now focused on his next "stupid goals".

Seven world titles and a sub-10 hour Ironman triathlon are the next targets for Tai Woffinden, the reigning world speedway champion driven by an insatiable desire to execute ever more improbable sporting goals.

The dirt had no sooner been brushed from his race-suit after winning his third world crown in front of scores of thousands of fans in Torun, Poland, in October, than the 28-year-old from Scunthorpe was targeting back-to-back crowns and, ultimately, the seven that will make him the greater rider in the history of the sport.

Only two previous riders – the great Scandinavians Tony Rickardsson and Nicki Pedersen – have secured two in a row since the title evolved to be decided by its current Grand Prix Series in 1995.

Tai Woffinden in action (Taylor Lanning)

Yet Woffinden's already daunting itinerary, involving weekly trips to Sweden and Poland when the season gets underway, is complicated by an imminent quest to combine his pursuit of speedway greatness with a full Ironman later this year.

"I just set myself stupid goals," Woffinden told Press Association Sport as he paused for breath on his return to Scunthorpe Scorpions this week, the club with whom he began his professional career in 2006.

"I've just signed up for an Ironman, so I'll have six weeks to prepare for it once the season's finished. I think if you haven't got a goal that's nearly untouchable, it's not really a goal worth having.

"Obviously I want to achieve my goals and I normally do. I've become the best British rider so now I want to win seven titles and become the greatest of all time.

"It's so hard to win back-to-back titles but I've done everything I can to physically prepare myself.

"My first priority is to win the world title again. Then I can celebrate by hurting myself in an Ironman."

Woffinden's relentless appetite for new challenges can be traced back his childhood in Perth, western Australia, where he became one of the country's youngest taekwondo black belts at the age of just 11.

“It's just embedded into me, I want to win at everything I do. When I'm racing a dirt bike I want to go as fast I can. I thrive on being on that border line between being in control and out of control.”
- Tai Woffinden

The same day he was awarded the accolade, Woffinden abruptly gave up on the sport, turning instead to speedway and taking after his father Rob, who had been a popular rider for a number of British clubs before relocating his family to Australia after Tai was born.

"I said, I'm going to get my black belt then I'm going to finish," added Woffinden. "I'd already had enough of it by then.

"I hung up all my gear then six months later I saw a speedway bike, and that was that."

Rob Woffinden died of cancer in 2010, three years before his son won his first world title. Clearly his death affected the young Woffinden, by then a top-level rider with Wolverhampton, fuelling his desire to live his life to the full.

World speedway champion Tai Woffinden is not motivated by money (Taylor Lanning)

"All my mum and dad did all their life was overpay their mortgage to get it paid off, they paid it off and a year later my dad got diagnosed with cancer," recalled Woffinden.

"So they didn't get the chance to enjoy their life together mortgage-free. It kind of changes your outlook on life when something like that happens.

"I couldn't care less about money. If Brexit happened and all my bank accounts got cleared out I'd be like, whatever, it is what it is."

Woffinden is a popular figure in Poland, where the sport is hugely popular, averaging attendances of over 5,000 for regular league matches which can swell significantly for the season-ending finals.

Tai Woffinden wants to be the greatest rider in speedway history (Taylor Lanning)

If his profile back home is restricted mainly to its more low-key speedway towns, that lack of public recognition – and with it the inevitable, annual absence from the shortlist for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award – is not something that causes Woffinden to lose much sleep.

"I'm no Lewis Hamilton or Anthony Joshua but I do get stopped in Tesco and in Poland I can be sitting outside having my lunch and everyone is coming up wanting a picture or an autograph," he said.

"I will always find time for my fans but the other stuff doesn't matter to me. If it's about personality they obviously don't know who I am.

"I couldn't care less – it's just another nice little trophy to stick with the rest of them in the loft."

An Ironman triathlon is next for Tai Woffinden (Taylor Lanning)

Woffinden is scheduled to release his autobiography in September and is also pressing forward with plans to set up a charitable foundation. Finally, he concedes, his ultimate ambitions may become a little more modest.

"I'm pretty unpredictable with the things I do," he admitted. "Sometimes I just roll the dice and go with it.

"But I reckon my biggest goal is to finish building the house we live in in Australia. There's tons of work that's gone into it so far and I've been building it myself.

"I'm not going to be riding speedway bikes for ever. Once I'm done with my life here and reached my target I'll just go back to Australia and switch off from it all and slot into normal life."

amp_article__352710 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2019-03-08 12:45:26:
html db last update - 2021-03-11 17:13:54 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Tai Woffinden

Share this article now:
Read more about Tai Woffinden Motorsport
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .