Swimmer Mohammad Deljoo with his gold medal haul from the Masters Games. Photo: Armstrong Photography
Swimmer Mohammad Deljoo may be more used to coaching than competing these days, but that didn’t stop him from scooping up the gold medals at the New Zealand Masters Games in Dunedin this month.
Mohammad, 36, is originally from Iran but moved to Auckland two years ago to continue his studies. While he’d enjoyed swimming success when he was younger – competing at the West Asian Games and the Asian Games – he’d since turned his focus to coaching the next generation.
It was the environment of Masters sport in New Zealand that pushed him to compete again, he says, as well as encouragement from former national swim coach Mark Bone, who is the CEO and founder of SwimTastic, where Mohammad works as a coach and is part of the management team.
“I had only been in New Zealand a couple of months and usually only swam for myself, not for competition. In the Middle Eastern countries I lived in, sport at this age is not so popular,” he says.
“It was thanks to Mark Bone and Richard Lockhart (a former NZ Olympian who is part of our SwimTastic board) that I decided to compete again. They really encouraged me.”
Mohammad went on to win three gold medals at the New Zealand Swimming Masters in Taupō in 2022 and seven gold medals at the New Zealand Masters Games in Whanganui last year.
“I set a target for myself, for the next year in Dunedin. My specialist stroke is breaststroke but I entered all strokes in the 50m, 100m and the 100 individual medley. I saw it as an opportunity to try and challenge myself.”
It clearly paid off, with Mohammad winning 12 gold medals, bringing his New Zealand Masters Games total to 19 gold medals.
Mohammad, who already has a Master of Science in Sport Physiology from the California Centre University, finished a second masters in Applied Management (with a focus on sports management) online through the University of Otago in 2023.
“This was my first time coming here so it was a great opportunity to visit my university and participate in the Masters Games. It was a very compact trip and I didn’t get the chance to see much so I will come back with my family and visit every place.”
He did get the chance to meet athletes from other disciplines though, which was a highlight for him.
“Here I met people who were signed up for cycling, golf, tennis. I loved it. I’ve mentioned several times on my Instagram page and website, many thanks to the Games team. These Games were absolutely about hosting and they were really organised – the team, events and communications.”
Before Mohammad hopped on his plane back to Auckland, we had to ask him what words of advice he would offer to others looking to win gold.
“Never give up, always go forward. If you’re looking for your chance, move fast,” he says.
“And never lose! Ha!”
