Former police officer leads North Mackay swim team to national meet
After a policing career which has taken him from Belfast to Mackay, Sergeant Nigel Dalton is now set to take a small team of swimmers to Darwin to compete in the National Masters Swimming Championships. DETAILS.
Mackay
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A Mackay swim club has ambitions of national glory going into National Masters Swimming Championships in Darwin Friday May 3.
At the forefront of this small pack, after swapping out his police hat for a swimming cap, is retired Sergeant Nigel Dalton.
“I’m Mr Competitive,” Mr Dalton said with a broad grin.
Mr Dalton has been with the North Mackay Sinkers for many years and helped them win dozens of medals in the past, most recently contributing to a haul of over 35 medals in a Brisbane competition where the team placed ninth out of 50 Queensland, New South Wales and Victorian swim clubs.
“Winning medals as a relay team was really one of the most exciting things,” Mr Dalton said.
Nigel Dalton retired from the Queensland Police Force in April after a 40 year career in policing starting in Belfast and ending in Mackay.
These days Mr Dalton enjoys his time at home walking his dogs and swimming, although he still keeps in contact with his old colleagues on the service.
“I have a good chat with Senior Constable Steve Smith almost daily,” Mr Dalton said with a sly grin.
“He wants to know where I’ve hidden things.”
In a parting gift, Mr Dalton hid small motion detectors around his Senior Constable Smith’s workspace, including within the keyboard, and when triggered they set off loud alarms that he’s concealed close by.
“Those are some practical jokes we do on each other,” Mr Dalton said, laughing.
A small team from the Mackay sinkers will be travelling to Darwin, leading them will be Sinkers President Dan Stamper, Jeff Robinson, Nigel Dalton and his wife, but it isn’t the other teams that Nigel’s worried about, it’s the open water swim.
“I thought open water swim in Darwin, that’s a little interesting,” he said.
“There’s things in the water that go … crunch.”
Although the event will be held in a croc free lagoon, Mr Dalton joked that he would be “signing (his) wife’s rifle out”, but is worried she will “shoot the space behind him” to improve his pace.
Retirement seems to agree with Mr Dalton, but it’s rumoured he could be swimming in the political pool of the state elections as the potential LNP candidate for Mackay.
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