Grant gives coach nod on baton

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SWIMMING champion Grant Hackett is hoping to share the spotlight with coach Denis Cotterell at next year’s Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

Hackett, the world record holder and a dual Olympic gold medallist in the 1500m, has nominated his long-time coach to run a leg of the Queen’s Baton Relay.

“When I was asked who I’d like to nominate, he was the first person who came to mind,” Hackett said.

“Coaches like Denis are certainly the unsung heroes in modern sport and that’s what carrying the baton is all about, recognising people who play such a valuable role.”

YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO CHOOSE A RUNNER

THIS is your last chance to nominate yourself, or someone you know, to run a leg of the Queen’s Baton Relay.
By the time the 2006 Commonwealth Games start in Melbourne in March, the baton will have visited all 71 Commonwealth countries and every state, territory and capital city in Australia.
Most of the runners will be chosen through Telstra’s Community Runner Program, and every citizen and permanent resident aged 12 or older on January 25 next year is eligible.
Organisers are asking Sunday Mail readers to help choose those runners by nominating people they consider worthy of the honour.
To nominate someone, just download a form from www.queensbatonrelay.telstra.com or pick up a nomination form from a Telstra shop.
Nominations close on Friday and the names of the runners will be published in The Courier-Mail in November.

Hackett, 25, said he owed much of his sustained success in the pool to Cotterell, his coach of almost two decades.

“When you win a gold medal you have to break your success down to a number of people who have helped along the way and your coach is a big chunk of that,” he said.

Hackett believes the secret to Cotterell’s longevity is his ability to move with the times.

“I’ve been with him since I was six, and for him to have trained me as a junior and taken me throughout my career and to gold medals has been amazing,” he said.

“He is a great teacher and he has been able to constantly adapt his coaching. He’s just so engrossed in the sport.”

Hackett said winning a place in the Queen’s Baton Relay would be a great way to give Cotterell his due recognition.

“It would be great to see him have the chance,” he said.

“I’m sure it would be something he would treasure and it would be great to see him get some public recognition.”