Mack Horton visits young swimming duo

Two Warragul Swimming Club members have had the opportunity of a lifetime, participating in a training session with Olympic gold medalist, Mack Horton.

Horton, who claimed gold in the 400m freestyle event at the 2016 Rio Olympic games, spent time at the Warragul Leisure Centre with brother and sister duo Nicolette (16) and Josh (14) Wight, taking them through a session and helping them perfect their swimming craft.

Horton has been mentoring the duo since they applied and were accepted into the Sports Excellence Scholarship Fund.

To enter, both Nicolette and Josh wrote a letter, outlining why they thought they would benefit from having an elite athlete as a mentor, with the SESF seeing the sister-brother duo as the perfect candidates.

Executive director of the SESF Nick Mooney said the scholarship had helped many young athletes connect with mentors like Horton who help coach them in many aspects of life.

“Mack and the kids have been communicating by phone and Zoom so far this year, but he thought it would be good to meet them face to face and do some coaching and get to know them better.

“The advice that he’s given them this year has been invaluable on overcoming setbacks and building resilience as well preparing for a return to competition and nutrition,” he said.

Horton said being able to finally visit Nicolette and Josh and train with them in the pool was a fantastic experience.

“It was an absolute pleasure to get down to the Warragul pool and mentor Nicolette and Josh. I thoroughly enjoyed the session and can’t wait to continue their swimming journey with them,” he said.

The Wight siblings made the move to the Warragul Swimming Club from South Gippsland just 10 weeks ago, wanting to utilise the Olympic size pool the club has access to.

Josh said it “was an experience of a lifetime, I feel so lucky,” while Nicolette added “COVID made us wait, but it was certainly worth it, thankyou Mack and SESF for an amazing journey,” she said.

The two will continue to work with Mack throughout their scholarship and are able to contact him when they feel they need some help or advice.  

Warragul Swimming Club coach Paul Myers said having Horton in the pool with the swimmers gave them a brilliant insight into what it takes to reach the highest level. 

“It’s great, they watch him on TV and to get the feedback from him is something they will really take on board,” he said.

Both are nationally qualified swimmers, with the swim club looking forward to having them on board for their upcoming events, with a focus on working towards Olympic trials as well.