By Daniel Kowalski<\/p>\n
MELBOURNE, Australia, January 12. THE outpouring of emotion shown by the swimming community following the tragic death of Eric Namesnik does not surprise me \u2013 it\u2019s what makes the community such a special, close knit one, and one I am so proud to be a part of. <\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t know Snik like a lot of you did. I didn\u2019t have the luxury of sharing a training lane with him or calling him a teammate or my coach, but I had one encounter with him that I have never forgotten. Nor will I. It was – as I found out back then and realize even more so today – simply Eric being Eric.<\/p>\n
When Mark Henderson first e-mailed me about Snik\u2019s car accident, I was so overcome with emotion. It is one of those situations for which you can never prepare yourself. Like many of you, I was e-mailing people back and forth, eager to hear more news and hoping for the best, all the while remembering my first encounter with him and why I will always regard him as a role model.<\/p>\n
As a passionate fan of the sport of swimming it was impossible for me not to know who Eric Namesnik was. I remember watching him win two silver medals in the IM events at the 1991 World Championships from my lounge room, the same spot fom which I saw him claim silver at the 1992 Olympics. <\/p>\n
It was evident to me then that he was a fighter – one of those swimmers who, no doubt, worked his butt off every day and went to sleep every night secure in the knowledge that he could not have extracted any more out of himself that day. He was someone I really admired for that very quality. Heck, I even copied the way he wore his goggles after seeing him in person at the Rome World Championships in 1994.<\/p>\n
It was at the Atlanta Olympics, though, that I first met Eric. It was an honor, but what really affected me was the nature of our meeting and the discussion that took place. With no disrespect to Tom Dolan, I was cheering for Australian Matt Dunn and Snik in the 400 IM final. I like backing the underdogs, plus I knew Tom would have other opportunities. That race created an enormous buzz. I remember it like it was yesterday and I remember feeling so badly for Snik. He had come so close… again!<\/p>\n
I would end up winning a silver medal in the 1,500 meters on the final night of competition to go along with two bronze medals I won earlier in the week. I was upset. My life-long dream had gone. I was trying to put on a brave face, but it was hard. <\/p>\n
Whilst I can\u2019t remember exactly where I was at the time, I remember feeling a tap on my shoulder, turning around and seeing Eric. Before I even got a chance to say hello, he proceeded to tell me to be proud of my achievements, keep my chin up and never forget how I felt coming second and to use that feeling to motivate myself for the next four years. <\/p>\n
I shook his hand, told him thanks and how much I admired him. We chatted for a little bit and then went our separate ways. I can remember being so overwhelmed with his amazing act of kindness and honesty. Even the last time I saw him in Irvine, last August, it was almost as if there was this unspoken rule: chin up, and be proud.. I always will Snik!!<\/p>\n
I often thought of that conversation in the years that followed and I have obviously been thinking a lot about it the last few days. In my life I have been fortunate to meet a lot of great swimmers who are even greater people. Eric Namesnik will always sit on top of that list!<\/p>\n
Editor's note: Dan Kowalski, a two-time Olympian, was a member of the Australian National Team from 1993 -2002. At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, he became only the second man to win Olympic medals in the 200, 400 and 1500 meters freestyle at the same Olympiad.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Daniel Kowalski MELBOURNE, Australia, January 12. THE outpouring of emotion shown by the swimming community following the tragic death of Eric Namesnik does not surprise me \u2013 it\u2019s what<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world","category-zzzzzzzzz"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n