The Big Names Mean Little To This Young Open-water Flyer
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday January 8, 1998
Ky Hurst will never emulate the feats of the swimming legend Mark Spitz . . . in fact, until Tuesday night the teenager had never heard of the American.
But yesterday it was the name Hurst and not Spitz which dominated conversations in Perth after the 16-year-old from Foresters Beach on the NSW Central Coast collected Australia's first medal of the eighth World Swimming Championships.
After a gallant attempt to lead throughout in the 5km open-water event, Hurst, in only the second race of his distance career, was overhauled just 300 metres from the finish by a Russian, Alexei Akatiev.
The previous night Hurst was with the Australian squad at a Perth hotel when they were introduced to Spitz, who won seven gold medals at the Munich Olympics in 1972.
"Yeah, we met Mark Spitz in the hotel last night," he said. "He won seven gold or something, a few Olympics ago. That's pretty awesome, I guess, to win seven golds in one meet, and at the Olympics. That's pretty freakish."
Hurst's first open-water race was at the national championships in October where he won, securing his place on the world championships team. And before heading to Perth, he continued competing in the Uncle Tobys ironman series, where he is placed 13th.
"I would have been happy with 10th placing here," he said. "I wasn't too sure how I would go in the trials, but they got me here, and now I've got a second place. I'm stoked. But after being in front for that long, it was a bit disappointing to get passed right near the finish." Asked how he felt then, he said: "I felt like decking him."
Hurst now intends targeting the 1,500m at the Sydney Olympics. There he'll bump into another legend, but this time one he has heard of - Kieren Perkins.
PAGE 40: Germans to fight coach ban.
© 1998 Sydney Morning Herald