How a Mackay swim coaching legend brought Meg Harris back from the brink

Mackay swim coaching legend Pat Wright may have saved the career of Olympic gold medallist Meg Harris. She reveals how she encouraged the star to keep swimming when she was “nearly ready to quit”.

Meg Harris. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

If it weren’t for Mackay’s Pat Wright, Olympic gold medallist and world record holder Meg Harris may well have quit swimming a decade before she ever had a chance to stand on the podium.

Wright, a legend of Queensland swimming who set heroes including Linda MacKenzie and Geoff Huegill on the path to international glory, said a 13-year-old Harris was on the brink of leaving the sport.

“It was a pretty hard situation, she came to me after she’d had a very bad experience with another coach who I will not name, and she was nearly ready to quit the sport,” Wright said.

“But just through love, attention and the right guidance, she became a very talented athlete with a future in front of her.

“To me, it was always going to happen, she had that aura about her and she only wanted to be the best.”

Wright said the key to setting Harris on the right path was letting her know she could “take it in her time.”

“She needed to know she didn’t have to show everybody straight away that she was the best, she could just enjoy the sport for what it was and find enjoyment in being with her friends.

“People didn’t care that she wasn’t the best in Mackay or Queensland, she was allowed to be a normal human being.

“Giving her that experience made her realise that there’s more to this than just winning a medal.”

Legendary swimming coach Pat Wright said she saw greatness in Meg Harris’ future from an early age. Picture: Charlie Payne / Daily Mercury

Nonetheless, winning medals is exactly what Harris has gone on to do, winning gold in Paris in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay, along with silver in the 50m freestyle and the 4x100 medley relay.

Wright, who coached Harris from the age of 13 to 16 before she moved to Brisbane, said it was clear to her from early on that Harris had the ability to go on and achieve greatness.

“It became apparent very early to me that she had the talent to be successful on the world stage,” Wright said.

“It was why when the family had to leave town for work purposes, we tried to get her in the best programs available for her in Brisbane so she could continue with it.

“I don’t think a lot of people realise there’s a lot more to it than just having the raw talent, you have to have the mindset that comes with it and she’s clearly got that.

“She reminds me a lot of Linda MacKenzie, nothing is too much trouble for her and she wants to be loved for what she is... she doesn’t want anything for nothing and I hope (Harris) goes on to have the same sort of success.”

Wright’s impact on Harris and her journey to stardom is clearly apparent to her and her family, with Wright saying she keeps in regular contact with the 22-year-old.

“I still keep in touch with her and her parents, got a text from her mother and father on Wednesday saying thanks for being such a big part of her journey,” Wright said.

“I think that means more to me than anything, what you do in the early years of nurturing an athlete who goes on to do great things, to me that’s just as significant as being an actual coach at the Olympics.”