Grant Shimmin SWIMMING
On the biographies page of the website run by Fina, global swimming’s governing body, you’ll currently find the name of only one South African and there are no prizes for guessing who it is.
The fact that Penny Heyns is the country’s sole representative among a gallery of the biggest names in the sport is a clear oversight, given the upward curve South African swimming has been on over the last 18 months, but by the time the world short course championships, which began yesterday, draw to a close in Athens on Sunday, the Fina webmaster may well be forced to put the situation right.
Despite the recent achievements of her compatriots, particularly at last year’s Pan Pacific championships in the same Sydney pool where the drama of this year’s Olympics will unfold in September, Heyns remains South Africa’s only current world record-holder, with five different breaststroke marks in short- and long- course events behind her name.
That might no longer have been the case if her fellow Durbanite, Terence Parkin, had not narrowly missed cracking the world best in the men’s 200m breaststroke at the World Cup meet in Berlin early last month. But Parkin, who has thrown off the burden of his deafness as he has surged to the top of the ladder in world swimming, had a couple of factors acting against him as he clocked two minutes, 8,27 seconds – just 0,48 seconds off the short-course mark held by Russian Andrei Korneev. Not only had he swum, and won, the 400m individual medley earlier in the day, but in the breaststroke, he had no one pushing him, winning as he liked by more than three seconds from Alexander Youkov of Belarus.
Coach Graham Hill, who admitted on their return that he possibly should have withdrawn his man from the medley, added that if Parkin felt right, they would be going for the record in Athens. With the lessons of Berlin fresh in their minds, few would bet against him achieving it.
Obviously, though, the main focus for this year is the Olympics, and it’s encouraging to note that Hill believes Parkin’s style is better suited to long- course competition. After a bronze medal at the Pan Pacific championships in the 200m breaststroke, a record would see the tireless Parkin return from Greece brimming with confidence for the national Olympic trials at home in Durban early next month.
Brendon Dedekind, who captained the national team at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, as well as last year’s Pan Pacs and All Africa Games, is clearly an admirer. “Terence is a true champion, in swimming and in life. We can all learn a lot from him,” he said.
While the Athens gathering is a world championship, the presence of the Olympics on this year’s calendar has depleted the field somewhat, with numerous top Australians and at least half South Africa’s Olympic hopefuls choosing to miss the event to concentrate on preparing for their respective national trials. The Aussies stage theirs a month after the South Africans.
Parkin apart, though, there are several big names in the 10-member squad, though the irrepressible Heyns, who has world marks in the 50m and 100m breaststroke, will miss the chance to add the 200m short-course record, the only breaststroke mark she doesn’t own, to one of the sport’s most glittering CVs.
Heyns, who is based in Calgary, has understandably stayed at home after the death, from injuries sustained in a car crash, of Canadian swimmer Tara Sloane, a close friend.
While that is certainly a blow for the team, it will give teenager Sarah Poewe, another to enjoy success in Europe last month, the chance to impress against opposition including Australians Rebecca Brown and Brooke Hanson. Poewe, who only turns 17 this year, finished 1999 ranked third in the 200m breaststroke (long course) after bronze in Sydney, and is currently third on the short-course 100m rankings.
Dedekind himself is another who could do big things. Currently ranked second in the long-course 50m freestyle, after winning gold in Sydney, he is seen as a genuine gold medal hope for the Olympics and is looking to these championships to set him up for the trials.
“I am going to see how fast I can go before the trials. I will get an opportunity to race against some of the best swimmers in the world, and every time you do that you become stronger mentally,” he said from his base in Florida, adding: “I have personal goals for the meet, but I would prefer to keep them personal. All I will say is that if I achieve any of my goals, everyone will find out about them!”