Kiwi Olympian: Steven Ferguson

By PETER JESSUP

When your dad happens to be the country's most-honoured sportsman, the only Kiwi to win four Olympic gold medals, there has to be pressure to perform from an early age.

But if Steven Ferguson feels any, it isn't showing.

Just turned 20, Ferguson is quietly confident of his ability as he prepares for the 100m breaststroke in Sydney.

He feels he could have been a top kayaker, just like dad Ian had he put in the time and effort, or gone to the top in rugby, soccer, surfing, basketball, softball, water polo - sports he had an early interest in.

"Growing up, I wanted to be an Olympic kayaker just like my dad, but I was good at swimming and swimming just took up so much time. Maybe I started [kayaking] too young because I just didn't find it too interesting. I still kayak for enjoyment."

Ferguson went to school at Takapuna Primary then Takapuna Grammar and moved to Northcote College simply because it had a pool. By age 13 he was beating all at the North Shore club's Takapuna pool, making rep teams, and focusing on being an Olympic swimmer. No self-questioning.

"Yeah, I have a fairly competitive edge. When I race I want to win and I consider every training a race.

"In fact I think that if you don't want to race every session then you shouldn't consider the sport as a career because you're not going to make it."

Ferguson is a water baby, as at home rippling through the pool, as he is gangly and ungainly-looking out of it. His 1.94m frame means he has fewer body lengths to swim than some others.

He's into surfing and surf lifesaving, competing for Red Beach with his father, and riding waves at Raglan when his demanding schedule allows.

Ferguson's day starts at 4.30 am with an energy bar and juice to stop his stomach grinding on his nearby backbone as he completes 280-odd laps, around 8km, working on technique and stamina in the two hours before breakfast.

A run around Lake Pupuke, 10 Weetbix for breakfast, and it's off to the gym for weights and Swiss ball work to improve strength and agility. He's having hyperbaric training, aimed to increase oxygen uptake, and feels a big improvement in performance.

Afternoons are another two hours in the Takapuna pool. And, no, the chlorine-laced environment, the early starts, the repetition, the sameness of every day do not bother him.

"I really enjoy it, I get the chance to push myself to the limit every day."

He has a one-word answer for what he does outside the pool.

"Sleep." Then qualifies that with "And I eat a lot ... lucky mum likes to cook."

He's lucky he has a sportsman's biological build, a fast-burning metabolism that allows him to eat pretty well what he wants. But given it is Olympic year he has cut the McDonald's down from 10 a week to two and upped the pasta and vege count.

For money, he helps Ian in his Tamaki Drive shop, training inline skaters, occasionally helping with the kayak paddle tours to Rangitoto, though the finish is generally too late for him, given the early morning wake-up call.

Ian feels his son is on a big upward curve, that he likes big races, that his improvement comes in jumps at big meets rather than in increments all year. "Unfortunately the Olympics are this year and not next."

But Steven has the right build and, most importantly, the right attitude to be a winner, Ian says. The elder Ferguson started as a swimmer too, but admits he was only average at it and couldn't have made a New Zealand team. He says that alone has taken away some of the pressure of carrying the Ferguson name.

"If he was in canoeing it might be much harder, but he already knows in the back of his mind that he's done better than me. He could go on to canoeing, he would be good at it."

He also echoes Steven's self-assessment that Steven could be good at any sport he put his mind to.

Ian doesn't train with his son or try to coach him. The pair have a daily discussion over breakfast.

"Encourager I suppose you would call me, motivator maybe. I try and talk him through, give him psychological back-up. I don't push him. I've seen young swimmers pushed by their parents. The day the parents aren't there the kids aren't either."

For the same reason Steven is sponsored by dad's business Ferg's Kayaks, which allows him to avoid any sponsor performance demands.

Steven Ferguson has tried the new speed suits but his intention is to swim in "the shortest pair of pants possible."

They are comfortable, the suits are not, especially for the outward leg stroke of Ferguson's chosen breaststroke. The Fastskin or Sharkskin suits designed to aid flow of water around and off the body are laser-designed for the neatest fit possible and take up to 20 minutes to don.

They constrict the chest. A tight fit is so critical that after three to four races they are stretched beyond use and it costs more than $600 for a new one.

Ferguson's aim in a career he knows will be short, is initially to make the final in the 100m at Sydney.

"Once you're in the final anything can happen. If I keep improving the way I have been ... I've really knuckled down now ... who knows? Making the top 10 in the world would be great."

He will keep swimming until he can't improve any further. "I'll know it's time to look for another sport when the times start going backwards."

The Olympics – a Herald series

Official Sydney 2000 web site