Olympic swimmers Willie Benson and Lauren Boyle hosting a training session with the Heretaunga Sundevils Swimming Club. Photo/Paul Taylor.
Olympic swimmers Willie Benson and Lauren Boyle hosting a training session with the Heretaunga Sundevils Swimming Club. Photo/Paul Taylor.
She may have retired from competing, but Lauren Boyle's love affair from her chosen sport is far from over.
New Zealand's most successful swimmer returned to the region after 14 years to share her extensive experience with the next generation - the Heretaunga Sundevils Swimming Club.
"I really love givingback to the sport now that I am no longer competing. I was quite aware when I retired that I didn't want everything that I learnt as an athlete and as a swimmer to leave the sport in New Zealand completely because it seems like such a waste.
"Doing things like this and being able to come down and meet new kids who are really involved with swimming is such an exciting thing for me."
As a young swimmer herself, she used to get a lot of "joy and inspiration" out of watching athletes perform for New Zealand at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.
"I think it's really good when somebody who's spent a long time doing something and has been a professional in something has the ability to pass that on to somebody else".
During Boyle's swimming career, she won more world championship medals than any other Kiwi.
Last August she announced she was retiring from competitive swimming due to an ongoing hip injury but her commitment to swimming continues through mentoring.
Since then she's been working for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Auckland's CBD and swims up to three times a week - a far cry from her past schedule.
"I have a completely different routine than I am used to. Now I'm focused on learning everything I can about my job and being really good at that as opposed to caring so much about how my body performs on a day to day basis, which is a pretty big mental adjustment.
Olympic swimmer Lauren Boyle shares her knowledge in the pool. Photo/Paul Taylor.
Last night, she once again donned her goggles and glided effortlessly through the water at Flaxmere Waterworld indoor pool, with eagle-eyed swimmers watching her every move.
"I hope that I can just share ideas around swimming technique and things that I learnt that really helped me, that maybe will be easy for them to understand and work into their own technique. But I don't want to be forceful and tell them how to swim or anything."
She credits her time at the University of California, Berkeley to learning the importance of being fully engaged in training.
She also took part in a Q&A session with swimmers and parents last night, where she offered advice on goal setting and mental skills to further support and round-out members' training regime.
Boyle said the key was to have a "vision, a strategy and tactics" to achieve a goal.
Olympic swimmers Willy Benson and Lauren Boyle speak to the swimmers at the Heretaunga Sundevils Swimming Club. Photo/Paul Taylor.
Sundevils head coach Willy Benson, who was a 2008 Olympic team mate of Lauren's, says the club's swimmers, who range in age from 8 to 21, were incredibly excited to have someone of Lauren's calibre coming to help train them.
"We were thrilled when Lauren agreed to spend two days with our junior and senior swimmers, sharing not only her water skills but also her swimming experiences.
"These little moments and interactions are the things that can flip the light switch on for people, so it is about providing those opportunities for the kids of the next generation," Benson said.
Boyle's visit to Hawke's Bay is being made possible with the support of T&G (formerly Turners and Growers) which has a strong association with swimming in the region.
T&G's general manager pipfruit, Bruce Beaton, himself a regular swimmer, said swimming is an essential life skill and something many Kiwis have mastered to an international level.
"There are many sports available to young people, but swimming is beneficial on so many levels. Having someone of Lauren's ability train and talk with our local young swimmers is an opportunity we're delighted to support given the competition for other sports and funding."
"I am really grateful for this opportunity and T&G have done a really amazing thing for this swim club and the community and it is fantastic the way it brings people together in a positive way," Boyle said.
