2024 Olympic finalist and world champion Erika Fairweather of New Zealand is changing training bases as her longtime coach Lars Humer is stepping back from international coaching.
A fixture among top Kiwi aquatic athletes for nearly 50 years, three-time Swimming New Zealand Coach of the Year Humer has coached in Dunedin and Christchurch and helped shape Fairweather into one of the world’s best mid-distance freestylers at present. He also helped put Caitlin Deans and Kane Follows on the Paris Olympic roster.
From 1999-2013, Lars was employed by British Swimming, including as GB Head Coach for British Para Swimming for 7 years.
According to Swimming New Zealand, Humer will remain as head coach of Swim Dunedin in his focus solely on domestic coaching. As a result, Fairweather will be moving to Auckland where she will be coached by Graham Hill at North Shore Swimming Club.
Humer said of his decision, “It’s an absolute privilege to work with elite athletes—it’s definitely better than a real job.
“I’ve dedicated the last 25 years to high-performance sport and the Olympic calendar, coaching at three Olympic Games and two Paralympic Games. I’m in my 60s now, so I’ve decided it’s time to catch my breath and do some things for me.”
Swimming New Zealand CEO Steve Johns commented, “Lars has been an absolute stalwart of swimming in New Zealand. He has been a huge part of our success on the world stage and has fostered a love of swimming in the hundreds of swimmers he’s coached. We cannot thank him enough for his contribution and are extremely pleased he will remain involved at a domestic level.”
Quotes courtesy of Swimming New Zealand.