A CHANGE of coach did little to stop Paige Leonhardt’s momentum ahead of the 2017 Para Swimming World Championships in Mexico.
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Leonhardt set a new international short course world record in the 100 butterfly at the Queensland Short Course Championships on August 19 and 20.
In doing so, she slashed two seconds off the old mark.
The previous record of 1:08:94 was held by New Zealand’s Sophie Pascoe and had stood since 2009. It is now 1:07:07.
Coach Robert Hindmarsh only took charge of Leonhardt three weeks ago so he was unsure what to expect when she lined up on the starting blocks.
He admitted the world record was a bonus.
We went into the meet more to improve her skills so the main goal for the meet was to improve her starts and turns.
- Paige Leonhardt's coach, Robert Hindmarsh
“We went into the meet more to improve her skills so the main goal for the meet was to improve her starts and turns,” he said.
“She gained a little time there so her swimming speed was probably faster as well, but it was more to do with her skill level through those starts and turns.”
Hindmarsh said he wanted to turn the 16-year-old, who turns 17 on September 21 into a “more rounded swimmer” ahead of the Paralympic Games next year.
“We want to develop all of her strokes particularly since the IM is a big stroke at the Commonwealth Games and the world champs as well and leading into Tokyo,” he said.
“I want to make her a more rounded swimmer, not just concentrate on one stroke.
“We’ll still be specific in training for those strokes, but it will make her a more rounded swimmer.”
He admitted being around more people had contributed to her early success under his tutelage.
“She’s only been a small squad swimmer while she’s been in Queensland so she’s back in a squad now,” he said.
“She’s back with a lot of able-bodies so there’s more interaction and she has probably come out of her shell a little bit more so it’s probably more to do with the social interaction between the swimmers.”
Leonhardt’s coach said it was important not to focus on a purely para program for his swimmers.
I want to make her a more rounded swimmer, not just concentrate on one stroke.
- Robert Hindmarsh
“I think for them it’s having them train with the able-bodies and that’s what I did with Paige,” he said.
“She didn’t just swim para events at the short course meet, she swam some able-bodied events as well and because she’s that much faster than her classification it’s better to have her race against people who have similar times.
“That gave her a bit more confidence as well.”
Hindmarsh admitted he didn’t have any expectations for the teenager ahead of the Brisbane meet.
“It’s not about the time, it’s more that I wanted to see her execute her skills really well and she did a very good job at that,” he said.
“She’s improved a lot with her starts and turns so I was happy with that, the world record was a bonus.”
Leonhardt flies out to Texas on September 21 for a three-day camp before they fly to Mexico for the world championships.
The 2017 Para Swimming World Championships start on September 30.
