Harare — KIRSTY COVENTRY changed the face of Zimbabwean sport, through her phenomenal achievements in the world, and single-handedly brought swimming into the conscience of a nation that is obsessed with football. But, for a long time, a number of people having been toiling, behind the scenes, in trying to produce the next great swimmer for this country and little is known about them. COLLIN MATIZA, who was there at the Olympic Games in Athens when Coventry came of age, tracked one of the country's finest and most dedicated swimming coaches, CAROLINE PULLEN, this week and, in a lengthy chat, was told that the future of Zimbabwean swimming looks very bright.

Thanks for affording me this opportunity of chatting to you over swimming in this country. First of all, how long have you been involved in coaching swimming in this country and how long have you been involved in the sport?

I have been in the sport for the past 20 years as a coach for three clubs that is Crusaders, BG Dolphins and recently Penguins. I have been coaching the top swimming Matabeleland school, Girls College in Bulawayo, for the past 15 years.

You recently took the Zimbabwean junior swimming team to the 8th All-Africa Swimming Championships in Mauritius where they garnered a number of medals, how was the experience and was this your first time to take a local team to a major international swimming event?

The team that recently took part in the 8th African Junior Championships won 16 medals to be exact. I am a seasoned Zimbabwean coach and has taken three other local teams to international events. The first was a development team to Swaziland in 1994. Then the next level to Newcastle in South Africa in 1998 and then to the Prestige Gala in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2002. I took the past teams strictly as the coach , this time I went (to Mauritius) as manager/coach.

Were you quite impressed with the performance of the team in Mauritius and who do you think was the most outstanding swimmer in the team and why?

I was most impressed with the focus and determination of each swimmer. The whole team performed brilliantly and to choose one swimmer in particular would be most unfair. However, if you are looking at who won first place this has to be James Lawson who won two gold medals and brought the whole championship meet, both swimmers and spectators, to their feet. It was so emotional and when they raised our (Zimbabwean) flag and played our national anthem, I was totally overwhelmed by emotion, I must admit I cried with joy and pride. No one could take that proud moment away from me ever.

What do you think should be done to take these young swimmers, which you took to Mauritius, to another level?

Recognition as to their achievements so far and publish results as you are doing. I feel if the Government brings in international coaches to give (coaching) clinics to both swimmers and coaches on a regular basis to keep in touch with what the rest of the world is doing in the sport.

I've noticed that the Zimbabwe Aquatic Union is among a few national sports associations that have managed to keep the sport of swimming afloat despite the harsh economic climate that the country has been experiencing since the turn of the new millennium, what is the secret behind this?

Many of the coaches are passionate about the sport and do it more out of love for the sport as there is not much money to be made out of coaching swimming. The parents, including the ones of the children that made the trip to Mauritius, do more than their share to support their children in paying the affiliation fees, keep swimming pools functional by donating equipment, paying for pool chemicals and putting in a lot of voluntary work. We also have a very good and functional sport body that keeps everyone in place.

Swimming is now regarded as one of the major or popular sporting disciplines in Zimbabwe, especially after Kirsty Coventry made headlines by winning three medals - one gold, one silver and one bronze - at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, what efforts or measures do you think should be taken to take the sport to another level in this country?

Everybody loves a winner and Kirsty Coventry single-handedly accounts for so many children looking at her and realising that Zimbabwe can produce world class swimmers.

Also, swimming has once been regarded as an elite sport, which was a preserve for the whites in this country, what do you think should be done to popularise the sport and making it a mass sport? And also how vibrant is the local junior development programme since you've been involved in it for quite a long time now?

Swimming is still regarded as an elite sport mainly because it takes a lot of money to succeed. Children train everyday sometimes twice a day to achieve the desired results so parents or guardians have to make the time to take a swimmer everyday to the club if you live far from a pool this works out to a lot of fuel. Once the swimmer begins to achieve they have to travel to the various swimming galas at least to inter-provincial galas also paid for by the parents. Then the up-to-date equipment goggles, swimming costumes, etc are not cheap. Once they make the Zimbabwe team they then have to pay all the costs of travelling, kit and accommodation. We need the Government to do something financially to make the sport available to the average child on the street and also those who join the clubs then find it a financial burden to continue.

Still on that question, not so many black swimmers have been coming through the ranks in local swimming, what is the main problem and if there is any, who is behind it and what can be done to address it? And also what are the main challenges do you think, in your personal opinion, ZAU is facing in bringing more black people to the sport?

Black swimmers have been coming in and making in-roads in the sport but many of the parents do not keep the dedication up for long and it becomes too much of an effort to keep bringing their children to the pool on a daily basis or the parents that are dedicated run out of money once the travelling and accommodation costs come into play. I have found time and time again that this is the case. Many black swimmers and sometimes really talented swimmers have fallen by the wayside. Such a pity and a wasted of talent. I would like to challenge the parents of black swimmers to prove me wrong.

How do you expect the Government through the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture and the Sports Commission to come in and address this anomaly, if there is any?

Take a look at all government and public pools including school swimming pools and bring them back into viable swimming centres. Get the older coaches to coach teachers at school level to teach and begin training school children to be able to participate in inter-school galas. Give money to the aquatic federation and earmark it for talented swimmers at club level. Assist travelling teams both within the provinces and regionally make Zimbabwe a standard swimming kit and sponsor it, to all teams going on tour. That makes life easier for the parents who are always footing the increasing bills.

It's no secret that Kirsty Coventry has emerged as the best swimmer to come out from this part of the world since the attainment of independence in 1980, is or are there any other local swimmers whom you think will fill in her big shoes once she decides to hang her costume and goggles?

There are a few up-and-coming swimmers throughout the country and those that are at various colleges and universities and I am sure there will be a few that will make it to the very top.

The swimmers that went to Mauritius certainly look like they will make their mark.

We've just seen seven of our promising young swimmers -- Kaleigh and Syanne Graham, Tarryn Rennie, Samantha Welch, Nicholas Burnett, James Lawson and Sloane Marshall -- leaving the country to represent Zimbabwe at the African Junior Championships in Mauritius, which one of the seven do you think has the potential to become our next big hit on the international scene?

All of the above they were so keen and ready to give their best and they did. We may get competition from water polo as this is team sport and makes it easier as you can have an off day and someone else can step in.

But a swimmer has to keep at it, as it is an individual and can be a lonely sport.

And what efforts do you think should be done to invest in these promising young swimmers, especially with the 2012 London Olympic Games on the horizon?

These swimmers will continue with their swimming as I see it but a little financial help for the children that have come home having represented their country as well as swimmers who came back with medals would certainly be a boost.

I understand that it took time and a lot of patience for Kirsty Coventry to be groomed and turned into an Olympic swimmer and a world beater, do you think any of the above-mentioned young swimmers is ready for the 2012 London Games or are you looking at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro?

It will be no different for these swimmers, it will take lots of patients, time and dedication to get there.

I know that parents have a big or crucial role to play in the development of their talented children, especially in individual sports like swimming, what kind of support, as a junior coach, have you been receiving from the same parents in bringing more talented swimmers to the fore in this country?

Many of the children who do exceptionally well have the unwavering support of their parents and when a child begins to do well their close friends and family tend to begin to join clubs so as juniors it becomes quite sociable to be in a club.

What makes a good swimmer and what is needed for one to become as popular and successful as the legendary Kirsty Coventry?

A combination of a good coach, supportive parents and a child with the right attitude and competition. The larger the competition the better the swimmer and that comes from good organisation of the swimming boards and the Zimbabwe Aquatic Union.

Just something that I have found over the years, as much as 85 percent of competitive swimmers go to university. Swimming develops both sides of the brain and that is a fact.