Tears flow as Zac Reid qualifies for Olympics

It was the tears in his mother’s eyes that told Taranaki swimmer Zac Reid all he needed to know – he’d met the qualifying time for the Tokyo Olympics.

On Sunday, the Taranaki swimmer hit the Olympic

800-metre freestyle qualifying time of 7:54.31 when he achieved a time of 7:53.50 at the

2020 ASA Open Championship. The event, held at the West Wave pool in Auckland, also doubled as the first qualification trials for swimming for the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which are taking place next year.

In doing so, Reid also broke the New Zealand Open record and shaved 3.9 seconds off his previous personal best.

‘‘I was a bit nervous and scared to look at the [time] board actually because if I didn’t get it I was going to be distraught,’’ he said.

‘‘I looked up at my mum first, but she couldn’t look at me because she was crying on the phone to my dad.’’

The 20-year-old’s father, Byron, represented New Zealand

at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland and qualified for that event in the same pool three decades ago.

Yesterday, Zac Reid said the achievement had not yet sunk in, as he was at a swimming camp and had to get back to training.

But to celebrate he did go out for dinner with his mum, Wendy, coaches and training partner.

‘‘You can’t do much on a Sunday night when you have training the next day.’’

However, Reid said he would take some time off – about a week in total – over Christmas and Boxing Day and then at New Year to go to Rhythm and Vines with friends.

Afterwards he’d get back in the pool and gym, kicking off another three-month training cycle.

Reid, who spends about 21 hours a week training, said making the qualification time was a little like getting ‘‘the monkey off your back’’.

It was also proof the life decisions he’d made to pursue his dreams were worth it.