KEY POINTS:
They say when one door closes another one opens.
This notion was cold comfort for North Shore swimmer Andy McMillan after he missed out on qualifying for the Beijing Olympics earlier this year.
McMillan had dreamed of going to the Games for years and, leading up to the
Olympic trials in March, he was very much on track to make that goal. But his quest to qualify disintegrated after a poor showing in his favoured event, the 200m butterfly. After starting out strongly in the final of the event, McMillan faltered over the final quarter of the race and slid just outside the time he needed to get to Beijing.
"I just had a shocker, basically. I had been training for it all season and had been hitting all my times, and everything was looking good. I don't like to admit it, but I think the pressure got to me." McMillan said.
But after gaining selection in the New Zealand team for the Surf Lifesaving World Champs, set to begin in Germany this weekend, the 22-year-old has learned there can be life after Olympic non-selection.
Not that he was prepared to admit it to begin with.
"There was a couple of weeks there where I just hated life and wasn't enjoying things," he said.
"When I first got picked on the team, I was still pretty down about missing out on the Olympics because that had been my dream for so long.
"But this has definitely given me something to focus on. It's kept me in the water and got me really excited about something else. I haven't been this excited about a swimming event for a long time."
McMillan will compete in the pool events in Germany, which form half of the world championships programme.
"Hopefully I can offer them a lot of power in the pool. I just want to prove to everyone on the team that I'm worthy of being there and not just somebody who's only there because I missed out on the Games."
Despite competitive swimming being his main focus, McMillan is not new to surf lifesaving. He first dabbled in the sport in 2001 while he was training in Dunedin under master swimming coach Duncan Laing. He joined the St Clair club and patrolled the southern beaches when his training regime allowed, making the New Zealand team for the International Pool Challenge in Christchurch in 2006. That year the Kiwis beat Australia for the first time.
But it's been a decade since New Zealand have tasted world championship success in the sport. And it's no coincidence that the 1998 winning team featured specialist pool swimmers like Trent Bray, Jackie Read and Anna Robson, as well as ironman champion Cory Hutchings.
McMillan said there was a real resolve among the Kiwi team to end their world championship drought in Germany. Their main competition is expected to come from arch-rivals and defending champions Australia, but McMillan believes if they can put the Aussies under pressure early, they have every chance of taking the title.
"I'll be disappointed if we don't come home world champions. We've got a great vibe in the team that we're going to go the whole way and not get tripped up in the last hurdle."
Despite having limited international experience, McMillan doesn't expect any surprises in Germany. He said the team's preparation for the event had been flawless.
"We've rehearsed the World Championships three times now. We've done the same programme but squeezed it into two or three days, so we know exactly what to expect and who is going to be strong in which area. So we couldn't be any better prepared really."
Of course, McMillan has had to brush up on a few extra skills for the surf worlds, like towing a manikin through the water and perfecting his wading technique.
While it has taken his attention away from swimming aspirations, McMillan has the blessing of his coaches at the highly successful North Shore club, which he joined last year.
"They're happy with me doing it. I've committed to swimming for another four years, so I guess they're not too worried about what happens this year."
His coaches know McMillan's heart still very much lies with swimming and he has set his sights on some big goals over the next four years, including qualifying for the World Champs next year in Rome as well as the Commonwealth Games the year after.
And despite his torment this year, he still hasn't given up on going to an Olympic Games.
"It wasn't to be this time round, but next time I'd say I'd be a lot more mature and focused and more hungry, I guess, after having to sit at home and watch them."
