Trent Lindsey blew the opposition away at the Victorian Long Course Swimming Championships last week, winning two gold, two silver and one bronze medal.
By Marc McGowan
NARRE Warren North swimming star Trent Lindsey enjoyed the best meet of his life at the Victorian Long Course Swimming Championships last week.
Having previously never made a state final, 14-year-old Lindsey coolly collected two gold, two silver and one bronze medal in a brilliant performance.
His gold medals came in his pet events – the 200 and 400-metre freestyle.
“I was expecting maybe top three or four, but winning a couple was good,” the young Casey Tiger Shark said.
“It’s relief, knowing that all of your training has paid off.”
Lindsey used to swim for the Oasis Otters, but has been under the tutelage of Tiger Sharks head coach Ben Hiddlestone for the past two years.
“Trent was a great result. He’s only about 163 centimetres, and is competing against 14-year-old ‘men’,” Hiddlestone said.
“He has really kicked on in his freestyle.
“A month ago, Trent wouldn’t have been able to go anywhere near those times because he was so tired from all the training he was doing.
“When you freshen up and go into taper, it shows how much hard work you’ve done.”
Lindsey devotes himself to nine training sessions a week during school time, but has upped that to 10 during the school holidays.
The strenuous schedule has paid off, as on top of his vast medal haul, Lindsey has qualified in eight events for the National Age Group Championships in April, which will be held in Perth.
He will compete in the 50m, 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle, the 200m individual medley, the 100m and 200m backstroke and the 100m butterfly.
“The time I swam at states, that was the time that qualified for the final at nationals in the 200m freestyle. That’s my main event,” Lindsey said.
While his outstanding efforts are a testament to his willingness to work hard, it is also another reminder of the winning culture at the club.
“The camaraderie is really strong – they’re doing eight, nine, 10 sessions a week,” Hiddlestone said.
“If they’re having a bad day and it’s harder to work, they push each other – ‘Come on, Trent, you can do it – get up there’.”
Lindsey also outlined the strong bond he has developed with his fellow squad members, particularly 17-year-old Brad York and 14-year-old Craig Watson.
“Brad is leading the lane. I look up to him and Craig a fair bit. They’re my main two close friends in the pool,” he said.
“They always want to win and do their best. They also drag everyone up to do their best.”
It is an important environment in which Lindsey can develop, as he has lofty goals in the sport.
“Making the Australian team is my main goal,” Lindsey said.
“It would just mean that everything has paid off, all the hours that have been put in, that I finally get to swim for the country.”
Lindsey’s parents, Donna and Michael, have no doubt that he can make it, as they have seen first hand how much effort their son has put into his discipline.
“It was fantastic. We are really proud and happy. He’s put in a lot of work and it’s paid off,” Donna said.
It was Lindsey’s parents who encouraged him to become involved in the sport, particularly Donna, who has never learned how to swim.
“Michael knows how to swim, but I don’t. I wanted all of my kids to know how to swim,” she said.
