Grant Shimmin swimming
It might not have been completely in keeping with the script they’d penned together, but in a way it was entirely appropriate that Terence Parkin should have equalled but not broken the record for the most individual titles at a national swimming championships, set 16 years ago by his coach Graham Hill.
The pair have developed such a close bond as coach and athlete a bond never more evident than in their finest hour, when the 20-year-old Durbanite won his Olympic silver in the 200m breaststroke last year that the fact that they are now bracketed together in the history books somehow seems to fit neatly into the natural order of things.
Parkin clearly felt the same way. “That’s the kind of guy he is. That’s the first thing he said,” Hill said of his charge’s reaction to missing out on an eighth title in Monday’s 1 500m freestyle, his 11th event of the championships at the Ellis Park pool. “He said eight would have been nice, but he’s very happy with seven.”
Hill, who won seven titles out of seven events in 1985, said the assault on his record was something he and Parkin had planned together. “We knew that with the championships being at altitude, the times wouldn’t be what they could be at the coast, so we said, ‘Let’s set something else to aim for’, so that there would be no pressure on him to set fast times.
“We knew we were taking on a lot (entering 11 events), but we weren’t sure of the opposition and we thought it was better to enter them all and keep our options open than not have him entered and therefore not able to race in some. The aim was to get seven or better.”
The plan worked, although the workload clearly told in the longest race on Monday after Parkin had taken out the 800m freestyle on Sunday and the 200m breaststroke, his signature event, earlier on Monday.
“George du Rand swam a perfect tactical race in the 1 500m [Parkin faded to sixth after leading at halfway] but a 1 500 at altitude was always going to be tough after all the work Terence had done,” Hill said.
Du Rand is the latest in a long line of excellent distance swimmers to come out of the Free State, a group headed by two-time Olympian Ryk Neethling, so he clearly had more experience of the distance at altitude.
“Unless you’ve done it, you can’t explain what it feels like,” said Hill.
Asked how the depth of swimmers now compared to when he won his seven individual golds, Hill said: “We had guys who were already on American scholarships, but there’s obviously more to go for now … the opportunities are a lot greater. But if you look at the times we swam and the times they’ve just swum, there’s not a lot of difference.”
Hill reflected that, having gone to the Olympics last year as an outside medal hope, definitely in the queue behind Penny Heyns, Brendon Dedekind, Neethling and perhaps even Sarah Poewe, he is now, in terms of achievement, South Africa’s senior competitive swimmer, without ever moving overseas to train.
Even Parkin’s deafness seems to become less of an issue every time he steps on to the blocks at a major meet.
His relationship with Hill is so close that, despite offers, he’s never been willing to break up the partnership and his loyalty has paid divi-dends. What that does mean, though, is that when the world championships in Japan roll around in July, there’ll be more pressure on him than there was in Sydney.
“Our plan throughout his whole career had been centred on the 2004 Olympics. He came through a bit earlier,” said Hill.
So a lot will be expected of him in Japan, especially in the 200m breaststroke. Will Terence Parkin be fazed by the expectations? Perish the thought!