Conrad Francis' Olympics Odyssey

SWIMMING: They called him the 'Black Dolphin'! Conrad Francis' performances were as breathtaking as they were artistic. Here was a 'Dolphin' who in his career minted Gold, Silver and Bronze as if he was running a precious metals commodities exchange! Two Golds in the 2003 Asian Games in Macau, China; two Golds, Silvers and two Bronzes' at the 2004 South Asian Games in Pakistan; and a Silver and a Bronze in 2010 at the Games in Bangladesh. He was also the first Sri Lankan to swim the 100m Butterfly under 56.00 seconds in the FINA World Course Championship in Indianapolis, USA.

What is more, he held 111 National Records - yes, One Hundred and Eleven, lest someone thinks the number is a printer's devil! And some of those records still hold.

The Conrad Francis story, as Captain of Sri Lanka Swimming in the years 2000 through 2006, is as fascinating as it is inspiring.

At St. Joseph's his athletic talents were soon a matter of debate: should the potential in this left-arm pace bowler be nurtured as a cricketer or should he be in the swimming squad?

Talented as he was in both sports, his teachers settled for the grueling regime of swim training in the mornings, cricket in the afternoons and competitive swimming in the evenings. The college swimming coach Shirley Abeysena assisted by Ranil Gunasena and Ruwan Manawadu made an important call: coach Abeyasena asked the rhetorical question "do you want to be in the College Swim Sqaud?" ... and then in the same breath said, "I will see you tomorrow morning -- 5 am sharp in the pool!"

The success starts

That was it! And so began the Conrad Francis Odyssey.

Encouraged by his dad Mark Francis, Mom Susan and sister Tracy, who herself has notable sports distinctions, young Conrad was soon setting his sights on the Olympics and getting trained in Australia as he was fast reaching the peak that Sri Lanka swimming could offer. But this was a real challenge as the Francis' were a family of modest financial means. Yet they were endowed with the God given bounty of unshakable faith. Providentially Conrad was selected for an Australian Sports Linkage Program, and in 1996 he made his way to Melbourne.

At the Rowville Secondary College in Melbourne he injected life into swimming which was, until then, a dormant sport. In no time he claimed sports headlines whenever inter-school meets were held. Trophies were bagged by the dozens. The teacher in charge Ms Leslie, overwhelmed by success, declared at an Awards Ceremony Gala that if she had the powers she would rename Rowville as Conrad Secondary! That was a fun time till it lasted!

Inducted into Olympic training

No good deed goes unpunished! And when punishment was inflicted on Conrad it came in full measure, as he was inducted into Olympic training with an entirely new regime. In attendance was a land training instructor, a gym instructor, a physical therapist, a nutritionist, a psychologist, and of course specialists in butterfly and breast strokes. The workouts were torturous and merciless, testing the limits of endurance, skill and the application of style. Only the fittest and the finest survived.

Being resident in Australia, Conrad was tagged as a visitor for the 2000 Sydney Olympics trials. 'Visitors' can only have one shot at a 'heat' to make the qualifying timing. No second chance. Conrad made it to achieve his childhood dream - a dream that included the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, and the 2004 Athens Olympics in Athens, and a string of Commonwealth and Asia tournaments to boot.

"Sharing a similar dream in the 2000 Olympics was Thikshana Ratnasekera of Musaeus.

In the 2004 Olympics it was Meneca de Silva of St. Bridget's. They together with Conrad blazed a trail and in 2008 Daniel Lee and Mayumi Raheem represented Sri Lanka.

In his Odyssey the Black Dolphin puts himself through a trance like routine. It is an engaging story in and of itself. About 72 hours before a major race, he goes into the mental cocoon of his own world. He gets nervous; this becomes a source of strength to give him courage; negative thoughts turn into positives; he listens to the music of the '60s and '70s. and the Safri Duo drums. Then the process of visualization: the starts, the lap, the turns, the returns and then the prayer ' God, take me quick to the Wall'.

Degree in Sports Science and Management

Having returned to Sri Lanka with his degree in Sports Science & Management, Conrad is now giving back in no small measure to the promotion of Swimming. Under the tutelage of Vijitha Fernando who was the architect of the Duncan White Foundation besides other trail blazing swimming initiatives, Conrad now heads the Aquatic Academy fully dedicated to the theory, the science and the practical aspects of competitive swimming.

Two expert coaches assist him and nearly 100 young swimmers have enrolled. Using the lessons learnt from his deeply rewarding experience in the run up to the Olympics, Conrad instills the discipline and techniques that go to make a Champion.

Archibald accolades

Last week's Pavilion Parade on the fabled rugby coach Archibald Perera drew a flurry of accolades for Archie, including an emotional comment from Frank Hubert, a Rugby Great himself, now resident in the UK, who offers the correction that the 1972 Peterite team was captained not by him but by Jeffrey de Jong.

Frank states: Archie was Giant of a Man who was so small in build, and yet so large in everything he did. And another comment from Michael van Langenberg from Australia who reminds us that the 1972 Peterite team has the unique distinction of fielding three sets of brothers - Jeffrey and Travis de Jong; the Weeratunga brothers Rohan and Nalin; and Noel and Michael van Langenberg. A record, he asks?

To contact Mohamed Muhsin: E Mail Mohamed@ mvmuhsin.com