Kahr and Main: Florida Teammates, Fellow Countrymen
Wednesday, November 5, 2014 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Scott Carter
Auckland, New Zealand is home to a pair of UF men's swimmers. (Photo: InsideAuckland.co.nz)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Don't even bother looking up how to get from there to here on certain websites.
If you try the search on DistancesFrom.com, you get the following message: Could not find a route between Auckland, New Zealand and Gainesville, FL, USA.
Well, duh. It's not like you can hop in a Ford Kuga or Holden Commodore, two of New Zealand's most popular automobiles, and drive across oceans.
Thankfully the commercial passenger jet has been around for several decades. The routes can vary, but according to FreeMapTools.com, the flight distance from Auckland International Airport to Gainesville is 8,086 miles.
Better pack one of those cushy travel pillows.
Gators junior Corey Main (above) welcomed native New Zealander Erik Kahr to the team this season.
Two University of Florida men's swimmers have recently. Freshman Erik Kahr and junior Corey Main could easily be mistaken for just another Florida kid from Jacksonville or Clearwater or Fort Lauderdale that veteran Gators coach Gregg Troy signed.
And then you hear them talk. Hmm, both speak fine English. Still, neither sounds like they are from Lake City or Lakeland.
Instead, Kahr and Main grew up about 15 minutes apart in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city with a population of around 1.4 million in the latest census. The Gators' roster features an international flavor with athletes from Italy, Spain, Poland and Uruguay sprinkled among the Floridians and Americans.
But UF's campus is literally halfway around the world from Mission Bay Beach and other favorite outdoor spots Kahr and Main grew up around.
"It is a long way from home,'' Main (photo, left) said.
Main arrived at the start of 2013 and in his first two seasons as a 100- and 200-yard backstroke specialist, earned eight NCAA All-American honors. He wants to add to that total in the spring with an eye on representing New Zealand in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
Meanwhile, Kahr has been at UF for only four months. The adjustment period continues for the newcomer who turned 19 in October.
"When the fall started, everything really started and for some reason I started missing home more,'' said Kahr, whose top events are the 100 and 200 breast. "And I was dying in training. I wasn't really in shape."
After finishing at the Auckland Grammar School, Kahr spent several months before coming to the U.S. training in the pool and playing piano. He's a music major who has played the piano since he was 4.
While he had thought about coming to the U.S. for college and swimming as a young teenager, the vision faded until he visited relatives who live in Orlando late last year.
While Kahr and Main had heard of each other back home, they didn't know one another.
"He swam for a different club,'' Kahr (photo, left) said.
Still, Main's presence at UF was important when Kahr opted to sign with the Gators. Main was the first UF swimmer Kahr met when his aunt drove him to UF for a visit during that trip to Orlando.
"I think it would have been much harder if not for another New Zealander here,'' Kahr said of his decision. "I still feel some of home here."
Main could relate. He experienced the same longing for home Kahr has since arriving over the summer.
Life in Auckland is one of diverse people, food and landscapes. Summer is December through February. Nearly everything is different than here to some degree.
"I had big trouble missing home,'' said Main, also 19. "I had just never experienced anything where I had been away from my family so long. My [recruiting] class helped me out a lot.
"Back home there wasn't many opportunities where sports and education were related. That was a big factor [in me coming here]."
With Main established at UF by the time Kahr got to campus, he provided tips and showed his fellow New Zealander around campus. However, once classes started the two developed their own routines.
They mostly see each other at meets and practice. Kahr's comfort zone expands daily.
"When I came I didn't think I would make the first semester,'' he said. "Sometimes I thought of quitting. I felt so far behind. After some dual meets, I got an idea of my times. Sometimes when I have a bad day I just swim it off. After that I feel better."
The fifth-ranked Gators host Minnesota in their final home meet of the fall season on Saturday at the O'Connell Center. At last week's loss to No. 4-ranked Georgia, both fellow countrymen had their good and bad moments.
Main teamed with Dan Wallace, Pawel Werner and freshman Mark Szaranek to win the 400-yard freestyle relay, and Main and Kahr were members of UF's 200-yard medley relay team that finished second.
Individually, Kahr finished sixth in 100 breast, eighth in 200 breast. Meanwhile, Main placed fourth in the 100 and 200 back.
"We just lost too many close races,'' Troy said of the Florida's performance. "We haven't lost a men's meet in four years. If there is anything good to come from it, it kind of woke guys up that there's other good teams out there and we've got to stay on top of what we're doing."
That is part of the plan for Kahr and Main, too. Both came to UF to maximize the talent they honed growing up just a few miles away -- and thousands of miles away from where they are now college teammates.
"I obviously want to get better, and I needed a change from New Zealand,'' Kahr said. "I was getting a little slack. Coming here, it's like really strict. It made me do everything properly. I hope to learn to my stroke better and learn to swim long course better. I did in the summer. That helped a lot, and to get more experience in racing."
The veteran of the New Zealand duo, Main can serve as a valuable road sign as Kahr navigates his freshman season.
Main consistently improved and at his first SEC Championships in 2013, finished fourth with a then-personal-best time of 46.84 seconds in the 100 backstroke.
"I was kind of lost,'' Main said. "My teammates helped me along the way. It's a big step moving to a place where you don't know anyone except the coaches and trying to fit."
Especially a place where you know there won't be any weekend visits home.
