Comm Games: Best times still to come for Clareburt and coach

New Zealand Swimming coach Gary Hollywood says all the science shows that six years is the magic number between a coach and athlete partnership.

Hollywood started coaching Commonwealth Games medal prospect Lewis Clareburt in 2016.

“So this is our sixth year and probably is going to be one of our best years,” Hollywood said.

Lewis Clareburt and his coach Gary Hollywood on the right in Birmingham as they look forward to the Commonwealth Games.
Photo: RNZ / Bridget Tunnicliffe

Over that time the seasoned coach has seen a huge amount of growth in Clareburt, one of New Zealand’s brightest in the pool.

“At 16 he was still a boy and then we went through those late teenage, early 20’s years where he was maturing as a young man.

“And I was having to pace how much control I started to relinquish and how much it became more of a partnership rather than me directing everything we did.”

Hollywood said now they’ve come out the other side of that, it is a very symbiotic relationship.

“We’ve got the Paris Olympics and beyond. Paris won’t be the last stop so we’ve still got some exciting times to look forward to.”

Hollywood said Clareburt has had offers to go elsewhere over the years.

“But Lewis’ response to that has always been what he has at home with me – is that we both want the same thing. So we’re both on the same page so it’s not an effort, it’s just what we do.”

Now the pair are in Birmingham getting ready for the Games, which get underway this Friday.

It has been a bit of a homecoming for Hollywood.

Lewis Clareburt
Photo: Photosport Ltd 2021

He worked for the City of Birmingham for four years from 2005.

“I was the assistant coach and swimming development officer for Birmingham. I looked after 26 clubs, 16 pools.

“And I was coaching age group squads, some of the athletes for which went on to the Beijing Olympics.

“I’ve kept my networks alive with all the parents, the swimmers, my former bosses. So my social media has gone mad and I’ve organized a big catch up. I’m really excited to be here.”

Clareburt will be competing in the 400 and 200m individual medley events, plus the 200m butterfly.

“The butterfly is an event that we’ve been keeping an eye on and just keeping in our back pocket.

“I like having the 400 first because that’s our main event. So we’ve got a chance to play with the 200 fly in the middle and then he’s got the 200 medley, which is another good event for us.”

Clareburt managed an impressive fourth place at the World Championships in Budapest last month in the 400m individual medley.

Hollywood said he was over the moon with that result given Clareburt wasn’t in peak health.

Clareburt got Covid a month out from the World Champs. Then a week before he raced in Budapest got a stomach bug while they were at a camp in Slovakia.

“It felt like for about six weeks we weren’t really able to train properly so for him to go 4.10 at Worlds – just a second off his best time, was a fantastic result.

“It came from his mental fortitude. It was a mental swim, not a physical swim. He was cherishing being there and he really pulled it out.”

Clareburt said he had considered packing it in and waiting for the Commonwealth Games.

“But we decided that an opportunity to race is an opportunity to race and to get better and to learn more about myself. So we decided to race and I think I surprised myself actually, how well I was able to perform,” Clareburt said.

Swimmer Lewis Clareburt at NZ House on the Gold Coast after winning bronze in the men’s 400-metre medley at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

Clareburt had a very promising Olympics debut when he placed 7th and 8th respectively in the 400 and 200m individual medley events in Tokyo last year.

Competitive swimming is a sport of tiny margins and Hollywood said it was what they lived by.

“Every step forward we’ve made, we’ve just made tweaks, we don’t try to make big jumps, or we’re working a lot on our skills, Hollywood said.

“In 2019 when Lewis won the bronze medal at Worlds, we were seven seconds slower than Seto [gold medallist Daiya Seto] – just on turns so we’ve been doing a lot of work on our skills.

“So we know we can save seven seconds there at some point. Seven seconds off a 4:09 is 4:02 and the world record is 4:03 so we know if we get the skills mastered, then we’re in good shape.”

Clareburt said they had to be meticulous in their planning.

“We have to be prepared to race, you’ve only got four minutes out of a whole year of planning to get it right.

“And it is hard to get it right at that one point. It’s not like rugby or team sports where you’ve got a whole season to finalize how you’re going to perform, we’ve only got four minutes to get it right once,” Clareburt said.

Hollywood is the last person Clareburt speaks to before he enters what is known as the ‘call room’ the area swimmers wait in before they are called up for their race.

“At the World Champs Lewis said when he was in the call room, he didn’t take any notice of his competitors. They’re not on his radar – it’s just what he can do, he’s racing himself.”

Does Hollywood get nervous for Clareburt as he chaperones him down to the call room?

“No, absolutely not, I get excited. So we plan meticulously and then we just get unleashed.

“Here in Birmingham it’s just pure energy, pure joy, and pure excitement to just be where we’ve been looking forward to be in the last few years.”

Clareburt said he got butterflies before he competed but was comfortable with that.

“I think if you don’t get nervous, you’re doing something wrong. I’m the king of shaking so I shake. I think as an athlete you have to be content with that and know that it happens to the best of us.”

Lewis Clareburt won bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Photo: Photosport

Four years ago Clareburt got a late call up for the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

The 18-year-old then stunned many when he won bronze in the 400m individual medley.

Does he feel more pressure this time?

“No, I think it’s awesome. Knowing that people know who you are and they’re excited to watch you race, which is different to four years ago, where no one really knew who Lewis Clareburt was.

“So it is nice …people know who you are, people have a little bit of expectation.”

Clareburt has had a good month of training since Budapest and was excited about what he had to offer in Birmingham.

And both his parents are going to be able to watch him compete in a major event for the first time ever.

His parents own a menswear store in Wellington so usually have to take turns attending major competitions, as one of them has to hold down the fort.

“But this time they’ve got someone to look after shop. I think my sisters are helping out too.

“I’m pretty excited to see them over here and I think they’re pretty excited, I think it’s their first time away together in 30 years.”