Huegill’s winning return

How the stars aligned for an Aussie champ

GEOFF Huegill already had five Commonwealth Games golds when he stood behind the blocks for the final of the 100m butterfly at the Delhi Games.

But they were from another lifetime.

The Huegill that lined up in Kuala Lumpur in 1998 and Manchester in 2002, was a fit and healthy young man who knew little of the world outside of swimming.

Almost a decade later, Huegill had been on a physical and emotional rollercoaster ride – his weight ballooning to 138kg as he embraced life away from the confines of the pool and the regimented lifestyle of an elite athlete.

The long journey back to full fitness was a win in itself. But the best was to come in Delhi in 2010 where Huegill had the best swim of his life.

“I still remember it like it was yesterday,” said Huegill, now based on the Gold Coast with wife Sara and daughters Mila and Gigi.

“To me, it was a journey in my life that meant a hell of a lot because I was at odds before I even started the journey.

“It was a moment in time where everything just worked out right.”

After winning a silver in the 50m butterfly, Huegill already felt like a winner.

And while the shorter event had always been his forte – he was a former world record-holder – the 100m was the blue riband race and the one he coveted most.

“Leading into the 100m then, it was all about strategy, I understood what needed to be done right down to the trip to the pool,” he said.

“One trip could take 30 or 40 minutes to the pool but depending on your driver, it could take up to an hour and 20 minutes.

“So from a strategic point of view, it was just much easier to cut your losses and stay at the village and not even bother about going to the pool for the heats that morning and then just do the one trip for the day.”

Kenyan Jason Dunford, the man who beat Huegill in the 50m, had sealed lane four in the final and went in as favourite, but at 31, the Aussie put together the race of his life.

“I remember being in lane five. I didn’t want to have the pressure of being in lane four and being the favourite going into it,” he said.

“I know that Jason Dunford was in lane four and all I had to do was sit on his shoulder and execute a different race strategy.

“It was the fastest time I’d ever done in history – all of the stars and planets and everything I’d learned just aligned for that moment in time.

“I look back now and I recognise how special it was to have that opportunity and how privileged I was to have a second bite of the apple.