NZMS Swimmer of the Year - Richard Lockhart

NZMS is extremely proud to announce that Richard Lockart was chosen as the NZMS swimmer of the year 2013, he was presented with the trophy at the the Swimming New Zealand Annual Awards held on the 12th April 2014.  Richard has successfully represented NZMS internationally over the years and has broken NZMS records in 5 different events.  He swims for Roskill Masters and is coached by Mark Bone.

Richard represented New Zealand at the 1986 and 1990 Commonwealth Games and competed at the 1986 FINA World Swimming Championships in Madrid.  In 1983, 1985 and 1987, he represented New Zealand at the 3 World Student Games.

In 1990 he retired from swimming and after a 14 year break Richard returned to swimming and represented NZMS at the 2008 FINA World Masters Swimming Championships in Perth, where he won gold in the 50m, 100m and 200m breastroke. Richard, then went on to win gold in the 50m, 100m and 200m breastroke at the 2009 World Masters Games in Sydney and also competed in the 2013 World Masters Games in Turin, Italy and won gold in the 100m and 200m breastroke and bronze in the 50m breastroke. In 2013 he competed at the Australian Masters Nationals in Sydney and won gold for the 100m and 200m breastroke and bronze for the 50m.

Richard is currently ranked 2nd in the 200m breastroke and 7th in the 100m breastroke in the FINA Masters ranking for age 50 - 54 years.

When Richard is not in the pool, he is a successful chartered accountant in a firm he founded in 1995, Lockhart O'Shea.  His other interests include: travel, wine tasting, yoga, gym and hiking New Zealand's great walks.  Richard is happily married to his stunning wife, Cheryl, for 16 years now and they share a beautiful daughter, Cara who is 12 years old. Included in the Lockhart clan is a very old and smelly dog, a fat cat and an eccentric gold fish.

What are Richard's future swimming plans? He plans to swim the Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast in November and might even try swim some of the ocean swims this coming summer.  Richard says he needs a specific meet or target to achieve, otherwise he can't focus his effort in the pool.

Richard in his own words:  "Whilst I had 13 years completely away from the pool after the 1990 Commonwealth Games, swimming is always a very good safe sport to come back to. You are never too old to swim – even just for fun. I do like catching up with people at swim meets or at training. "

Well done, Richard!  NZMS wishes you all the best in your future swimming career and hope to see you thrash more records in the years to come.

Below are some photos of Richard in action at the 2008 World Masters in Perth.

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