17 January 2005
Terence Parkin set a new standard at the Melbourne 2005 Deaflympics, becoming the most successful competitor in the history of the Games by winning an astonishing 12 gold medals and one silver.
Thanks mostly to Parkin, South Africa finished third on the overall table with 19 medals, including 13 gold, four silver and two bronze – an improvement of six over the 13 medals SA won at the previous Deaflympics in Rome.
Isaac Mahlake won the country’s only non-swimming medal when he picked up bronze in the men’s marathon as the 20th edition of the Games wrapped up on Sunday.
Six world records
Parkin smashed five world records en route to his record haul and equaled another when he won the 1 500 metres freestyle in 16:20.60. Given Parkin’s heavy schedule, one wonders how many other records he could have broken had it been lighter.
The Durban-based star won five gold medals at the previous Deaflympics, four of them in world record time. That was an amazing achievement. His performances in Melbourne were unheard of.
To capture 12 gold medals meant he had to excel in a number of different strokes, not just concentrate on his speciality, the breaststroke. He also had to win over distances ranging from 50 to 1 500 metres.
Different forms of fitness are required for sprint and endurance events, and Parkin was able to adjust his approach, a very difficult feat to achieve.
Fantastic freestyle
His 1 500 metres win shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise to those that know him. Parkin has twice won the world’s largest open water swimming event, the Midmar Mile.
Parkin started his record haul with a victory in the 400 metres freestyle. He also captured freestyle victories in the 100 metres freestyle, 200m freestyle, and the aforementioned 1 500 metres freestyle. Teaming up with brothers Greg and Nick Lessing and Marko Jansen, Parkin added a further freestyle gold in the 4x200m freestyle.
His versatility was to the fore in the medley events. He was part of the gold medal winning 4x100m relay line-up, while tasting success again in the 200 metres and 400 metres individual medley.
Predictably, Parkin swept the breaststroke races, taking victory in the 50 metres in a world record time, the 100 metres, and the 200 metres. Ironically, he swam, by his standards, a slow time in the 200 metres event, at which he won Olympic silver in 2000. It turned out to be one of his tighter victories.
Parkin further showed his versatility in the butterfly, winning gold in the 200 metres. His time of 2:05.23 was a world record.
Lessing shines
Greg Lessing also shone in the pool. He won the 200 metres backstroke, with his brother, Nick, in second place. In addition, he claimed silver medals in the 50 metres and 100 metres backstroke.
He was awarded bronze in the 50 metres freestyle, despite being timed in 25.03, the exact same time as John Kealy, who was given the silver.
Along with Parkin, Lessing was also a member of the 4x200m freestyle relay team and the 4x100m medley relay team.
South Africa settled for silver in the 4x100m freestyle relay, losing out to Ireland by just 0.35 seconds, in a time of 3:40.95.
On that occasion, South Africa claimed eight gold, two silver and three bronze medals.
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