|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Human Interest | |
|---|---|
General Interest | |
| Awards and honours | Named Auckland Swimmer of the Year for 2006. (mossburmester.com, 18 Apr 2008) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | North Shore, NZL |
| Occupation | Athlete |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Thomas Ansorg |
General Interest | |
| Other sports | He competed at the 2004 World Lifesaving Championships in Italy, winning two silvers and a bronze medal. He also competed for the Bay of Plenty in the Kellogg's Surf League in 2004 and 2005 and represented New Zealand at U19 and U21 level in underwater hockey. (mossburmester.comm, 04 Dec 2007) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He started taking swimming more seriously at the age of 10, and at 15 decided it was his number one sport. |
General Interest | |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "Navigation is key, look where you are heading." (nzoceanswim.co.nz, 29 Dec 2006) "Desire, effort and commitment is what makes a good swimmer." (Melbourne 2006, 20 Jul 2010) |
| Hobbies | Golf and fishing. (sparc.org.nz, 04 Dec 2007) |
| Memorable sporting achievement | Winning gold in the 200m butterfly at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, and gold in the 200m butterfly at the 2008 World Short Course Championships in Manchester, England. "It's a pretty awesome feeling to stand on top of the podium at a world championships and hear the New Zealand anthem," he said. (tvnz.co.nz, 14 Apr 2008) |
| Famous relatives | His parents and his two brothers have all represented New Zealand in underwater hockey. (mossburmester.com, 04 Dec 2007) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | His mother took him to water confidence lessons when he was a baby and he was part of the swimming club when he was at primary school. At the age of 10, New Zealand's 1986 and 1990 200m butterfly champion swimmer Anthony Mosse visited his hometown of Tauranga for a training camp and he was inspired to take the sport more seriously. "When I was 15 something clicked," he said. "I don't know what it was but I decided swimming was going to be it. It was going to be my sport." |
General Interest | |
| Ambitions | To win a gold medal at the Olympic Games and then establish a career in transport or industrial design. (sparc.org.nz, 04 Dec 2007) |
| Other information | RARE GOLD His gold medal in the 200m butterfly at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne was New Zealand's first swimming gold since Danyon Loader's in the same event at the 1994 Games in Victoria, Canada. (nzherald.co.nz, 17 Mar 2003) EMOTIONAL HAKA His surprise gold medal in the 200m butterfly at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, inspired his teammates to assemble at the side of the pool after his medal ceremony and perform an impromptu haka, the traditional Maori dance made famous by New Zealand's rugby union team. "It was the most amazing haka I've ever seen," he said. (NZ Edge, 26 Mar 2006) FROM TAURANGA TO AUCKLAND At the age of 11 he wrote down that he wanted to go to the Olympic Games and after achieving his goal in Athens in 2004 he suffered from a case of 'post-Olympic blues'. He realised he needed to change his training environment if he was to improve further. "I was training by myself in Tauranga and that was difficult," he said. "I decided that if I was going to continue I needed to be training with people my own age." In late 2004, he moved to Auckland and joined the elite North Shore squad under the coaching of Jan Cameron and Thomas Ansorg. "It was the hardest decision I have ever had to make. I was leaving home and my coach, Clive Power, who got me to the point where I was. I felt like I was betraying him. He had put so much time into coaching me." (stuff.co.nz, 14 Apr 2008) HYUNDAI SPONSORSHIP He is sponsored by car manufacturers Hyundai and drives a Hyundai car with his face emblazoned across it. (hyundai.co.nz, 20 Jul 2010) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | North Shore Swimming Club: Auckland, NZL |
Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Design - Massey University: Albany, NZL |
General Interest | |
| Most influential person in career | His parents, coaches and Anthony Mosse. (Melbourne 2006, 20 Jul 2010) |
International Debut | |
| Year | 2002 |
| Competing for | New Zealand |
| Tournament | Commonwealth Games |
| Location | Manchester |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Coach from which country? | New Zealand |