Lewis Clareburt needs to be nurtured to achieve the rarest of New Zealand sporting feats. Photo / Photosport
Lewis Clareburt needs to be nurtured to achieve the rarest of New Zealand sporting feats. Photo / Photosport
OPINION:
Swimming New Zealand has a gold nugget on its hands and it's now time to do everything in their power to preserve and promote it for a Parisian push in 2024.
Lewis Clareburt's feats in the Birmingham pool have shown what he's capable of. His win in the 400-metreindividual medley was utterly supreme, his gold in the 200-metre butterfly an absolute triumph. By the time he added a third medal in the shorter medley distance, his Commonwealth Games legacy was secure.
The next point of business should be a meeting between Clareburt, coach Gary Hollywood, Swimming New Zealand and High Performance Sport New Zealand. The agenda for that meeting should be fairly succinct; what do you need to repeat these feats in two years?
And therein lies what's required. Clareburt should no longer have to ask for help; his job now is to tell the powers-that-be what he needs. He's earned that right in the last four years, since he was a surprise late inclusion for the Gold Coast in 2018 and won bronze.
And similarly, Swimming NZ and HPSNZ shouldn't come with an offer; they instead need to come with an open mind and close to an open chequebook to ensure everything is done in the next two years to smooth his passage. They shouldn't have a budget ready to present to Clareburt and Hollywood; they should have a blank sheet of paper to chart the next 700 days together and then do the sums to come up with the investment required.
Lewis Clareburt celebrates with his gold medal in the men's 400m IM at the Commonwealth Games. Photo / Photosport
Wellington – where Clareburt lives – only has one 50-metre pool, but he's unable to gain regular access to it, due to the facility's other commitments. The answer is simple; let those other users work around Clareburt, rather than the reverse. Instead of saying, "sorry mate, but we've got our local juniors in here on that day", the conversation should be flipped and whoever else needs access to the pool should play second fiddle to him.
That may seem elitist, and perhaps it is. But Clareburt is a once-in-a-generation swimmer for who concessions must be made. Just four New Zealand swimmers have stood on an Olympic podium, and only one – Danyon Loader – has heard our national anthem ring out. When there's a chance of another, heaven and earth should be moved – or at least a few lane schedules changed – to make that happen.
Hollywood is adamant Clareburt can be an Olympic champion, and watching him swim in Birmingham, it's easy to believe. His winning time in the 400 IM was 0.72 seconds faster than Chase Kalisz's gold medal swim in that event in Tokyo last year. Kalisz was 27 when he won; Clareburt will turn 25 a fortnight before the Paris opening ceremony.
The stars are aligning, and this swimming superstar needs to be nurtured to achieve the rarest of New Zealand sporting feats. He can do it, but he needs help, both financial and physical. He needs to be accommodated and looked after. He needs clear water ahead to claim Olympic gold.
