Swimming: Swimming to Barcelona

By PETER JESSUP

Corney Swanepoel is just another sixth-former at Rangitoto College, an anonymous teenager on the street, but at 16 he already carries heavy expectations in the swimming world.

The South African's family moved to New Zealand last July and he started at the North Shore Swimming Club, where mentor Jan Cameron picked him out as having the potential to go to the top.

Now, after only five months with New Zealand's elite swim team at the Millennium Institute, Swanepoel has started breaking records. His coaches talk of him having the talent to be the next Anthony Mosse - even the next Danyon Loader.

Last night, in the 16-years 100m butterfly at the age-group championships in Henderson, Swanepoel's time of 53.49s not only smashed Loader's longstanding record of 56.09s, it also broke the open record of 54.29s set by Anthony Mosse in 1989. (Loader still holds 44 records through the age-group divisions to open.)

On Tuesday, Swanepoel set the New Zealand open 50m record in the butterfly, swimming 24.21s compared with the mark of 24.44 Jon Winter set when he finished fifth at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester last year. No one was pushing him - second-placed Yasunori Matsumoto from Japan finished in 26.15s.

Only 14 swimmers in the world bettered 24.21s over the distance last year.



All those associated with Swanepoel's training and development agree that his first test in major international competition will come at the world championships in Barcelona in July.

To get there, he must swim other comparable times at the national open championships in Wellington in July. No one doubts he will do that, including Swanepoel.

Swanepoel was born in Potchefstroom, lived for three years in Cape Town and represented South Africa in age-group competition against Brazil.

That might have disqualified him from representing New Zealand, because the international governing body Fina requires a 12-month residency before considering switches of national allegiance, but South Africa agreed to waive the requirement and Fina approved.

Swanepoel is the youngest of three brothers to parents Faan and Cindy but there is no family tradition of elite-level swimming. Like Loader, he started club competition around age 10.

"He's already swimming the 50m faster than Danyon Loader ever did," says Swimming New Zealand national coaching director Clive Rushton.

"It looks like he has all the ingredients. His streamlining technique andco-ordination are excellent."

Rushton says Swanepoel is "aware where he is in the water and able to adjust. And he's a pleasant character who fits into the team well".

Olympic coach Cameron and Igor Polianski, 1988 backstroke gold medallist for the USSR, have to take great credit for bringing Swanepoel's talent on, Rushton says. "With more progress in technique and through natural growth and development, his potential is just terrific."

Success demands hard work. Swanepoel's day starts in the pool at 6am, two hours looking at the black line, another two hours of it from six to eight at night. Two gym sessions a week as well and there's not much time for anything outside school and swimming.

He's a better-than-average freestyler at national level, but his main event is swimming's most physically demanding.

Rushton rates him as having international potential in the 50m and 100m and says he could step up to 200m as he gets older.

Cameron describes him as "a great talent. He's not too up, not too down. That's the sort of temperament you need to get to the top".

* If you know of a worthy Contender - a young, talented New Zealander with great promise - let us know. Email the Herald News Desk, write to Contender, PO Box 32, Auckland, or fax (09) 373 6421.