Arrest of ex-swim star was ‘massive shock’

RHYS Alwyn Ferzst grew up on the Gold Coast where he became a champion lifesaver and distance swimmer who trained under “super coach” Denis Cotterell, whose star-studded stable included Olympic champions Grant Hackett and Giaan Rooney, the Sunday Territorian can reveal.

Ferzst competed alongside Hackett and also swam against Ky Hurst in the 2011 Australian 10km open water championships, which were part of the London Olympic trials, finishing 10th.

He also served as a professional lifeguard with the Gold Coast City Council lifeguard service.

In an interview for a Backyard Bachelor series in the Gold Coast Bulletin in 2007, he said he would never see a woman again after a first date “if she smoked or took drugs”.

In 2008, he told the News Corp his goal was to make the London Olympics after experiencing the thrill of swimming against Hackett and Hurst in the Australian open water swimming championships.

“It wasn’t until I was in the water that it hit me,’’ he said at the time.

“At one stage I had Ky on my left side and Grant on my right side and we were out in front leading the race and that’s when it hit me and I was like, ‘wow’.’’

Cotterell told News Corp it was a “massive shock” to see Ferzst had been arrested over the cocaine bust.

“It’s definitely not the bloke I remember,” he said.

“He was just a very normal bloke, a happy-golucky Australian kid who worked well in the pool. He became one of the top half dozen open water swimmers in the country.

“People go in different directions – I guess you’re a product of your environment and your friends.”

His mother, Maree, declined to comment when contacted by News Corp.