It has been hailed as the fastest 50 metres freestyle swam in Tamworth – a 25.42-second effort by a teenager who has not taken swimming seriously for years.
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Inspired by that time and the current Commonwealth Games swimming trials, Nathan Watts may give the sport another serious crack.
The 17-year-old swam the time at the recent Calrossy senior boys swimming carnival at the South and West Tamworth War Memorial Swimming Pool.
His father, Stuart, said veteran Tamworth swimming coach Greg Poetschka confirmed that no one had swam faster in the city.
In fact, Stuart said the previous fastest 50m freestyle was the 25.72sec his son clocked at the long-course carnival at Tamworth Swimming Pool in January last year.
Stuart said it was the fifth time Nathan had swam sub-26 seconds for the event, including 25.55sec at the NSW Combined Independent Schools championships in Sydney last year.
Ashley Callus holds the Australian 50m freestyle record (21.19sec) while Cesar Cielo of Brazil holds the world record (20.91sec).
Stuart wonders what might have been had his son accepted a swimming scholarship from Toowoomba Grammar School two years ago. “He would have had to commit to 11 training sessions a week had he gone there,” Stuart said. “He loves home and his rugby too much, so he declined.
“We often think about that lost opportunity. Had he gone, who knows, we may have seats booked at the Gold Coast in April this year to watch the swimming [at the Commonwealth Games]. But it wasn't meant to be.”
Nathan will have a gap year when he finishes Year 12 this year before starting university. During the hiatus, he said he "might” up his hours in the pool to see what he could do.
He said swimming had been “an immense” part of his life but rugby was his true love, with the under-17 Tamworth Magpies No.8 picked in the NSW Country side the past two seasons. He dreams of playing for the Wallabies, like his idol, David Pocock.
“Mum and Dad enjoy me swimming. I like my rugby more,” he said.
A knee injury he suffered playing for the Magpies last season may have been the genesis for his record swim. Mirroring Pocock’s decision to bulk up after suffering a knee injury while in Year 11, Nathan hit the weights while sidelined. He now weighs 85 kilograms and is 186 centimetres.
He said: “I got inspiration from him and I wanted to bulk up like him … I guess with doing a lot of muscle strengthening and stuff like that it would have helped [in the pool].”
