Kiwi mountain biker Sam Gaze has revealed he received death threats, following his spat with teammate Anton Cooper during this year's Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
Gaze, 22, recovered from a punctured tyre on the penultimate lap of the race, before powering home to take out the gold medal, while Cooper finished second to claim silver.
However, with Cooper quick to pass Gaze by going hard on the bike following the incident, the gold medallist accused his compatriot of poor sportsmanship, snapped pulling the finger at his compatriot.
In an interview with NZ Mountain Biker, Gaze revealed that the incident had seen him sent death threats, also saying that if he had the chance again, he'd chance his post-race behaviour.
"I didn't uphold that responsibility (of representing New Zealand) the best I could have. But of course, it has been hard; it is never nice to have death threats sent to you," he said.
"Especially when people could rationalise that everyone can make mistakes in life, it is part of growing up as a person."
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