Duncan Laing

Two Dunedin swimming greats will forever look down on Dunedin's Moana Pool, reminding those who follow in their footsteps what can be achieved.

It is 18 months since master swimming coach Duncan Laing died, but his star pupil can hear his voice like it was yesterday. Double Olympic gold medallist Danyon Loader revisited his relationship with his coach when he spoke to Otago Daily Times reporter Alistair McMurran recently.

A public commemorative service for Duncan Laing, the great Otago swimming coach who died last weekend, will be held at the Edgar Centre in Dunedin at 1pm today. Otago Daily Times readers pay tribute.

The waters of Duncan Laing's old stamping ground - Dunedin's Moana Pool - will be stilled tomorrow afternoon as a mark of respect for the coaching great.

Duncan Laing was a rugby coach of the old school - training could last more than two-and a-half hours, and players got fit by running the roads.

Duncan Laing was a giant - literally and figuratively - of Otago and New Zealand swimming for the past 42 years.

Stefan Laing remembers his father, Duncan Laing, as a "tough old bugger" with "a huge heart".

"To Mr Laing, everyone was a champion as soon as you started swimming. He always found time to chat and pass on information about anything. My brothers swam just as long as I did under him. My dad coached with him for years and my mum always saw him in a hurry at the airport, getting to the pool and around town, but he always asked how she was. On behalf of them, I thank Mr Laing and his family for being there. To my mate, my friend and my coach, thanks."

- Rob Waide (Gold Coast, Australia).

Tough but gentle. That is how Liz van Welie will remember her coach and mentor, the late Duncan Laing.

Dunedin's master swimming coach Duncan Laing, who has died aged 77, will be farewelled at a public memorial service on Wednesday.