DENIS COTTERELL, the man who coached Grant Hackett to two Olympic 1500 metres gold medals, will be helping a rival of his former charge at the Beijing Olympics after accepting a role with the Chinese swimming team.

Cotterell, who coached Hackett throughout his career until the swimmer moved to Melbourne last year, was offered the role after working with Chinese male freestyler Zhang Lin, who competes in both the 400m and 1500m, the two individual events Hackett will swim in Beijing.

Hackett will be aiming to make history in the Chinese capital by winning his third straight 1500m gold medal, and Cotterell admitted that if Zhang upset his former student in his pet event, he would feel like "the man who shot Bambi".

But the coach has faith in his former student, and also has his blessing.

"The president from China swimming came out the other week to see the program, and through a translator, they invited me to come," Cotterell said yesterday. "The role is a consultancy role. I think I will be able to be on pool deck. From what I gather - and a lot can get lost in translation - he was saying something about because I wasn't fully part of the team they would have to get special accreditation, but they want me around the swimmer [Zhang], I'm pretty certain.

"I phoned him [Hackett] about it and he was rapt. We spoke when he left [the squad] that he wanted me there [in Beijing], but I knew I wasn't going to be able to make the [Australian] team and there are very few other avenues to get the magic plastic [accreditation], as I call it, and to get around, so I'll relish being there, that's for sure.

"I always said when Grant left that whatever happens I would be there [in Beijing] and I was prepared to pay my own way. I'm not sure where I'm staying, I told them I didn't want to be in as a coach, I didn't want to be replacing any coach or anything like that, but I'm hoping they will be able to accommodate me somewhere, and of course I hope to be able to have a capacity to be able to help [Hackett and his new coach Ian Pope] if they need me."

Cotterell explained that his linking with Zhang was contemplated several years ago. While on the Australian Olympic team, he met the Chinese head coach at the Athens Olympics, and then met Zhang's coach through him, and the idea of sending Cotterell the now 20-year-old was suggested.

Then, at last year's world championships in Melbourne, he was again contacted by the Chinese and asked if Zhang could come out for a period, which he finally did at the start of this year.

Zhang is considered China's best hope of a male medal in the pool. He spent three months training at the Gold Coast with Cotterell earlier this year, then returned home for the national titles and was a standout. He swam a national record of 3 minutes 44.97 seconds in the 400m (Hackett swam 3:43.15 at the Olympic trials), and narrowly missed the Asian record in the 1500m when he swam 14:55.98.

Zhang is now back training with Cotterell together with three of his Chinese teammates, and the coach is impressed by how hard they all work. "This guy [Zhang] is improving, and I'm just hoping I do a good enough job to not have a billion Chinese get their hopes up and have them dashed," said Cotterell.