Swimmer aims to be a big fish in a big pool

by Andrew Dawson

All smiles from Andrew Mackay (lane 5) and coach 
David Kelsheimer

Wednesday, January 7, 2004

Later this year Andrew Mackay hopes to swim as effortlessly through his Olympic Games debut as the stingrays that glide around his homeland of the Cayman Islands.

Mackay, 18, who is in Brisbane to compete for the state titles starting on Sunday at Chandler, will become the first Cayman swimmer to compete at an Olympic Games after qualifying for Athens in the 200m individual medley and the 400m individual medley events.

Not even the restriction of training in a 25m pool has suppressed Mackay, who also aspires to qualify for the Olympic 100m backstroke event.

Mackay is a Cayman Islands native who "just messed around" in the pool until the age of 13 when his coach, David Kelsheimer, started talking about meets that he might attend.

One of those meets turned out to be the 2002 Commonwealth Games, when Mackay became the first Cayman Islands representative to make a Commonwealth semi-final.

According to Kelsheimer, Mackay and his growing band of swimmers, which now numbers around 200, are not disadvantaged by coming from a comparative swimming outpost.

"We just have to do what they (swimming superpowers) are doing and we will be as fast as they are. That is our mindset,'' he said.

"You have to make sure your work level is at a world standard. And eventually hard work trumps talent.

"We have three other swimmers within half a percent of the Olympic cut. They would be open national finalist level in Australia.

"We have one 25m pool in the country, but we are building a 50m pool. It has taken time to get things moving and develop government and private interest, but we hope it will be ready by 2005.''

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