Swimming star Milan Glintmeyer (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Ruanui) is to represent New Zealand at the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships 2023 in Israel.
The 14-year-old qualified in April when she won the 100 metres backstroke at the New Zealand Open Swimming Championships with a time of one minute 2.22 seconds. It made her the fastest woman in the country in the event.
“It felt really good and to go under that world juniors for qualification was unbelievable,” Glintmeyer says.
“It’s every little kid’s dream to represent their country and it’s really awesome that I’m being able to do it at such a young age.”
Glintmeyer is a member of the Kiwi West Aquatics swim club in Palmerston North. She trains seven times per week, in two-hour sessions with up to 240 lengths per session.
Future Olympian
Glintmeyer has also made junior New Zealand age group records, mainly in butterfly, backstroke and medley races. Her coach, Tracy Breuer, who represented the Cook Islands at the 2016 Rio Olympics in swimming, says she is an “extremely talented young lady”.
“I truly believe if Milan wants to go all the way to the Olympics, she could do that,” Breuer says.
Glintmeyer is one of seven athletes to represent New Zealand at the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships 2023. Photo / Swimming NZ
“The thing that makes her different is that she is really, really focused on all the details. So she’ll work on all of the skills and the activities that she needs to try and make it better, make it faster. So that’s the difference between her just being super-talented and her actually getting there.”
Whānau talent
Strong swimmers run through the Glintmeyer whānau. Glintmeyer’s mum Niki represented New Zealand at water polo and her younger brother Kase is a star competitive swimmer too, also representing Kiwi West Aquatics.
At 12 years old, Kase Glintmeyer has already qualified for New Zealand’s age group nationals but is too young to compete.
Siblings Kase and Milan Glintmeyer both swim for Kiwi West Aquatics in Palmerston North.
Kase Glintmeyer says he loves the social side of swimming.
“You travel around the country and make lots of friends and I love racing just because it’s fun,” he says.
He says his big sister inspires him because “she works really hard every training”.
“She’s really cool and I would like to be like her maybe one day.”
“She’d destroy me in a race, but yeah, maybe one day I’ll be as fast as her.”
Milan Glintmeyer says she’s proud of her brother and “can’t wait to see him develop over time”.
“My dream is to be on the same team as him and go overseas. It would be great to share the Glintmeyer name out on a bigger stage,” she says.
Māori swimmers on the international stage
Milan Glintmeyer’s swimming idols are all Māori, including Erika Fairweather (of Ngāi Tahu descent), Mya Rasmussen (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga) and Lewis Clareburt (Tainui).
“It’s been really cool to watch them through their journey as well as mine ’cause every kid looks up to them and yeah, I look up to them too,” Glintmeyer says.
“[Clareburt] has held himself, the way he’s developed in the pool, he wasn’t an early peaker and so for him to peak late and still do so well is pretty inspiring for everyone.”
Breuer says she hopes for more Māori to get involved in competitive swimming because Māori and Pacific Island kids are underrepresented in the sport.
“It would be amazing to see more Māori and Pacific Island - girls especially - and boys getting in the pool, challenging those records because I think they are just naturally gifted and naturally strong. I think they would absolutely smash it so Milan’s proof of that.”
The Glintmeyers (from left) dad Nathan, Milan, mum Niki and Kase.
Fundraising and preparation for junior worlds in Israel
In September, Glintmeyer will be one of seven swimmers to represent Aotearoa at the junior championships in Israel.
“I’m super grateful. Not everyone gets this opportunity. I’m lucky to have such a supportive crew around me,” she says.
The trip is self-funded and Glintmeyer and her whānau need to raise $10,000 to get her there to cover flights, accommodation, and more.
“There are a lot of fundraisers and also a givealittle page where people can donate if they want to support,” she says.
Until then, Glintmeyer will continue training with the help of her whānau and coach.
“[Mum] drives me to swimming every day, so does my dad, but mostly mum,and she takes me to all my meets, gets me where I need to be and she’s just done stuff that I didn’t notice that she did and I’ve kind of just noticed now that she’s had a big impact on how I hold myself as a person.”
And the ultimate goal is to make it to the Olympics.
“It’s pretty scary to be this fast as quickly, I’ve got to say, but just even in my race, I can see so many kinds of little details that I need to work on and they’ll all improve my time and so I’m not too worried about that.”
