EX-US swimmer Megan to revive nation’s flailing fortunes

LUMPUR: Newly appointed swimming technical director Megan Oesting (pic) is up for the challenge to turn around Malaysia’s flailing fortunes in swimming.

The 51-year-old is honoured to be given the chance and certainly has the credentials to revolutionise high performance swimming here.

A former US national swimmer and a multiple medal winner at the Pan American Games, Oesting went on to coach at UCLA, SWIMMAC Carolina and Oregon-based Bend Swim Club, among others.

Oesting, who arrived in Malaysia last weekend, said the reason she joined was because the vision of Malaysia Swimming Federation (MSF) aligned with her own.

“It is an honour to come here and be able to lead Malaysia swimming,” said Megan.

“When I was in the US, a well respected friend who went to school with Marilyn Chua (MSF deputy president) sat me down.

“She said ‘I have a position that exactly aligns with your vision and skillset, they (MSF) need you as much as you need them’. I was convinced to come over for the project.

“The long term vision is to become unified and look to bring up every level of swimming in Malaysia, not just the top.

“We have to look towards the future and make sure we are positioned well,” said Oesting, who was also impressed with the facilities at Bukit Jalil Sports Complex.

Oesting is known to emphasize the importance of data and technology in her training methods, which is not surprising considering she majored in mathematics and computer science (degree) and also holds a masters in statistics and educational measurement.

She will be working with new national coach Eric Anderson when the Canadian arrives to join the national swimming setup sometime end of this month.

Anderson replaced American coach Chris Martin, whose contract was not renewed end of last year.