Stefan Laing (56) wants to put the record straight and has taken a year's absence from his teaching career to write a book about his father.
He began researching the book after attending a "This is Your Life" appreciation of Duncan Laing organised by Paul Allison of Sport Otago in the Dunedin Town Hall three years ago.
"It was such a wonderful tribute that I wanted to write it down for posterity because I knew that Dad was struggling with illness and I wanted to ask him about the different tributes," Laing said yesterday.
"Some people wrote down their memories of Dad that night and explained how he affected them. I have used these as a base for the book."
Stefan was filled with emotion when he read what people felt about his father.
"Dad was more than just a swimming coach," he said.
"He was a father figure and mentor who inspired his swimmers to develop all aspects of their lives.
"I want to convey Dad's character through the eyes of people whom he coached in swimming and rugby.
I want to weave all this into a story and show the attributes that Dad had and tried to imbue in his swimmers - commitment, tenacity and self belief.
"I don't want to talk about the history.
I want to touch the human side and how he affected a lot of people."
Duncan Laing had a booming voice and always came across as a super-confident character.
But that was just the facade.
"Dad had a lot of doubts and did not know if he could do the job," Stefan said, "It was hit or miss with him. But he had the character that always seemed to get the best out of people."
Stefan talked to people like All Blacks Peter Burke, Paul Sapsford, Chris Laidlaw and Earle Kirton who knew his father.
He did research at libraries in New Plymouth and Dunedin and has used an extensive scrapbook Daphne and Peter Loader kept on their son, Danyon.
"I know what he sacrificed by staying in New Zealand," Stefan said, "If he had lived in the United States, he would have been wealthy, but he stayed here and died a poor man. But he was rich in other ways."
Duncan Laing first achieved success in the 1970s when his swimmers were dominant on the local scene and he produced a stream of internationals.
After that, he lacked motivation for a few years until he got a new lease of life in the 1990s that led him to the top of the mountain when Danyon Loader won two gold medals at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.
It was a downhill slide after that as he struggled with cancer, melanoma and other health problems.
Since writing the book, Stefan has gained insights through his dreams that wake him at 4am.
"If I don't write then down then, I forget them," Stefan said.
He goes for a swim at Moana Pool to relieve the tension of writing the book.
"It settles me down," Stefan said.
"I can see Dad standing at the side of the pool. It is as if he is still driving me with his magic."
Stefan Laing has one more chapter to complete and has put the draft copy in the hands of Longacre Press.
