Family Lanes and Triathlon Gains – Don Taylor
From the outside, swimming might look like a simple way to keep fit. For Don Taylor from Toowoomba Masters, 25 years with Masters Swimming Queensland (MSQ) has become something much bigger: a way to stay connected to his family, his community, and a sport that keeps giving back.
“I’m on both the coaching and swimming side of things,” Don says, with his characteristic warm smile and a broad range of medals on the wall behind him. In over a quarter of a century with MSQ, that dual role has taken him from his own training lanes to pool decks around Queensland—supporting triathletes, mentoring new swimmers, and now sharing the water with his sons.
Recently, this meant travelling west to a rural clinic.
“Two weekends ago, I had the opportunity to go to Goondiwindi and run a coaching clinic for the swimmers,” he recalls. “My sons are participating in triathlons and are looking to increase their skills in competitive swimming. It was such a great experience to have my boys involved. They weren’t keen swimmers when they were young,” he laughs, “but they can swim all right now and can definitely beat their dad.”
What keeps Don coming back year after year is the way MSQ weaves into the rest of his life. The pool is not just a training venue—it’s a place where family stories unfold.
One of his favourite highlights came at the 2008 State/Nationals at Chandler Aquatic Centre in Brisbane, when all the threads of his swimming life pulled together for a single race.
“We had the State/Nationals competition in Brisbane, and at the time, my two boys were at university. I was living in Cairns, and they were in Toowoomba, but they signed up and came to the meet. We organised for all three of us to be in the same heat for the 50 freestyle race, and it was so much fun racing alongside my sons. That was a real highlight in my swimming career.”
Like many long-term MSQ swimmers, Don’s story is as much about the community as the competition. His week now includes sessions with an adult squad packed with triathletes—people who can run and ride for hours but are still learning to feel at home in the water.
“Triathletes… they run and bike really fast, and then they get in the water, and it’s a whole different world,” he explains. “They try to swim fast, but I’m always telling them to slow their arms down.”
MSQ has taught Don that speed comes from patience and good technique, not just effort. It’s a lesson he passes on, lap after lap.
“I train twice a week with them, and it works me hard, but yeah, it’s just always great.”
As MSQ celebrates its 50th Anniversary, Don’s 25-year journey is a reminder of what the organisation does best: keeping people in the sport they love, for life. Well-run meets, friendships on the pool deck, the chance to keep learning, and the joy of seeing the next generation find their own stroke—all of it adds up to something more than a training program.
For Don, it has meant watching two sons become confident triathletes, sharing a nationals race with them, and knowing that even as they can now beat him to the wall, they’re still coming back to Dad—and to MSQ—for advice, connection, and a lifetime love of the water.
