Heyliger Working As Olympic Swimming Judge
[Written by Stephen Wright]
It is not only athletes representing Bermuda at the Olympic Games in Paris, with Margret Heyliger performing duties as a swimming official.
Heyliger, the mother of Rebecca Heyliger, who competed in swimming at the 2016 Rio Games, is on the World Aquatics swimming technical committee and a stroke judge in Paris in the video room and deck side.
Several cameras are underwater, and others are above the pool so the stroke judges can observe whether athletes are performing the correct strokes.
There are also referees, starters, and turn judges at each swimming session, enforcing the rules of the event.
“If you’re on the World Aquatics technical committee, you’re always doing something,” Heyliger told Bernews.
“My role is to ensure the swimmers are doing the strokes they’re supposed to be doing.
“If they’re doing it incorrectly, it’s an infraction and reported to the referee and reviewed. It’s then decided whether it’s a disqualification.”
Heyliger was also a stroke judge at the 2020 Tokyo Games held behind closed doors because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The only people in the stands in Tokyo were other athletes, coaches and managers,” she said. “This time, the stands [at the Paris La Défense Arena] are almost full and loud!”
During the early days of her daughter Rebecca’s swimming career, Heyliger got involved in officiating.
She said she was the type of parent “who couldn’t sit still in the stands” and started refereeing at local meets and became a team manager for the Bermuda team at the Carifta Swimming Championships.
Heyliger has also refereed at the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships, the Youth Commonwealth Games, the Pan American Games and the World Aquatics Junior Championships.
“It’s been quite a journey,” she added. “People seemed to like my judging style, and that’s how I got nominated to the World Aquatics technical committee.
“It’s not something I was looking for; it’s something I was asked to do.
“I was over the moon when I first got invited to be an Olympic judge [in Tokyo]. I thought it would be the only time, but I’m back again!”
Bernews will be providing comprehensive coverage of Bermuda’s athletes in the coming weeks.
- View the ‘Best Interview The Best’ series here
- View profiles of all ten athletes representing Bermuda here
- View our dedicated website Bermuda2024.com here
- View all our articles on the Bermuda 2024 Games here on Bernews
- View our ongoing live text/photo/video updates here
