Former elite Otago athlete Michael
Sharapoff has been appointed Athletics New Zealand's Coaching
Development Manager, the top coaching job in the country.
Sharapoff (34) proved his ability as coaching co-ordinator
for Canterbury athletics by putting 1000 teachers through a
track and field coaching course over the past three years.
"We have a very strong programme for athletics in Canterbury
schools and I want to extend this to the whole country,"
Sharapoff told the Otago Daily Times from Christchurch
yesterday.
Sharapoff, who will be based in Wellington, starts his new
job at the beginning of September.
He plans to implement a new coaching structure for New
Zealand in partnership with Sparc and wants it to become
world class.
"I will review the current frameworks that are in operation
around the world and implement a model that is best for New
Zealand," he said.
A model in use at the moment is the Coach Force system which
is administered through the regional sports trusts.
There are Coach Force co-ordinators operating in athletics in
five centres - Otago, Hamilton, Wanganui, Canterbury and
Taranaki.
Sharapoff was educated at Otago Boys High School and was one
of Otago's top athletes in the sprints and jumps until his
active career came to a premature end in 2001.
He was a nationally ranked long and high jump specialist when
he nearly died after collapsing during a basketball match.
Before his collapse, Sharapoff, who still holds the Otago
men's aged 17 and 18 high jump record at 2.07m, twice won the
Dunedin Timebuster race around the Octagon and also played
basketball. He regularly trained up to 30 hours a week.
He had a best long jump of 6.86m.
When he collapsed, his heart rate had rocketed to about 260
beats a minute. His usual resting rate was in the 50s.
A specialist discovered that Sharapoff had a rare condition
known as arhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, which
causes dangerously high heart rates.
Doctors fitted into Sharapoff's chest a pacemaker which
delivers an electric shock to his heart if it speeds up
unnaturally.
He was forced to give up his job as a media sales
representative at Channel 9 television in Dunedin and was not
allowed to drive. His athletics and basketball careers came
to an end.
Sharapoff has learned to manage his condition and will not be
restricted in his work as a sports administrator.
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