(Andrew James) Duncan Laing OBE CNZM Born: June 20, 1931 Died: September 13, 2008
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There were times when Duncan Laing was the last person in the world Danyon Loader wanted to see.
Dunedin winters could be pretty chilly at the best of times and those pre-dawn hours - when the two would meet at the Moana pool - were never the best of times.
"There were times you wanted to just snuggle in and go back to sleep but what you tend to forget is that it's not just you making the sacrifices. Your coach is going through the same thing."
Laing, who died aged 77 in Dunedin yesterday, was always there rain, sleet or snow.
He carried a rod that he would whack against the metal railings to keep his charges in line. He was always there for Loader the swimmer and Loader the diffident kid who grew into a champion.
"There was a connection there from the beginning and I wouldn't be the swimmer I became or the person I am today without Duncan," said Loader, who first worked with Laing as a 10-year-old.
Laing was a giant in swimming circles, his massive frame dominating the enclosed space of the Moana Pool. Loader, who won silver in the 200m butterfly at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and golds in the 200m and 400m free at Atlanta in 1996, might have been his most notable protege but hundreds of others, of all ages and abilities, came under his tutelage.
He was also a fine all-round sportsman and coach.
He represented Taranaki at swimming, rugby and surf lifesaving - captaining his country in the latter at the 1956 World Cup - and continued to coach rugby for some years after that in Dunedin as well as serving for a period as an Otago selector.
He was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2005, and was also awarded an OBE in 1993, made a life member of Swimming New Zealand in 1996 and inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
As well, Laing was named New Zealand's top sports coach at the Halberg awards in 1992 and 1996.
When asked if it was possible to encapsulate this extraordinary man in a sentence Loader hesitated, saying: "I don't think it's possible and if it is I'm not eloquent enough to sum him up in a few words.
"But Dave Gerrard has compared him to Arthur Lydiard and he is right, Duncan was swimming's Lydiard."
Laing rather self-deprecatingly saw himself as an imitator of the athletics legend who coached the likes of Peter Snell.
"I more or less copied what I thought were Arthur Lydiard's methods - good steady mileage, building strength, heart and lungs.
"And as [swimmers] got stronger and better, and tried to work on the technique I thought was right, they started to get faster."
He was much more than a Lydiard acolyte, however. He was also a brilliant technician.
"He proved if you had talent and trained hard you could succeed in New Zealand. You needn't leave. He proved anything was possible."
Loader kept in contact with Laing after his competitive career ended, though he said it took him a while to get used to calling him Dunc. "When he was my coach I always called him Mr Laing.
"It was a sign of respect and it also was a way of maintaining a coach-pupil relationship."
He last spoke to Laing just before the Beijing Olympics, saying his interest in swimming and, more importantly, swimmers, never waned.
Laing had been troubled by poor health in his later years, after retiring from coaching in late 2006 following a 40-year career contracted to Moana Pool. He was treated in hospital in 2006 for a melanoma-like growth which was removed from his leg and in the same year he had surgery to remove a brain tumour.
A public memorial service will be held in the Edgar Centre, Dunedin, at 1pm on Wednesday followed by private cremation.
- NZPA
