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Tributes for city's sporting greats

Dunedin sporting heroes past and present are set to receive tributes from the city at two ceremonies this month.

Commonwealth Games gold medallists, individual pursuit cycling champion Alison Shanks and rugby sevens player Ben Smith will receive a tribute on November 18 at the Dunedin Town Hall at 5.15pm.

Dunedin City Council events team leader Marilyn Anderson said the public was invited to the event, which would be hosted by Mayor Dave Cull, in honour of Shanks' and Smith's medal-winning achievements at last month's Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Mr Cull will also officiate at a ceremony at Moana Pool on Thursday to mark the achievements of Dunedin swimming greats double Olympic gold medal-winner Danyon Loader and his coach, the late Duncan Laing.

At the 11.30am ceremony, the main pool and learner pool will officially become the Danyon Loader Main Pool and the Duncan Laing Learner Pool, in honour of the pair's achievements at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

Loader, who now lives in Auckland, is returning to Dunedin for the occasion, and will unveil the plaque commemorating his former coach, with Mr Cull doing the honours for Loader's plaque.

Council aquatic services manager Steve Prescott said the learner pool was where Mr Laing taught many Dunedin children to swim, including Loader, so it was appropriate the pool should be named after him.

The main pool was where Loader spent thousands of hours training before the Olympics.

Mr Prescott said he understood it was the first time a New Zealand main pool or similar had been named after an Olympian.

 

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