Main is a member of the Howick Pakuranga swimming club where he was coached by Gary Hollywood from 2005 to 2012.[2] He competed at the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games held in the Isle of Man, where he won four medals in the swimming events.[4] Main won gold medals in the 50 metre,[5] 100 metre,[6] and 200 metre backstroke events,[7] and was part of the New Zealand team that won the bronze medal in the 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay.[8]
For the 2012 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships contested at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Honolulu, United States, Main won the silver medal in the 100 metre backstroke with a time of 54.96 seconds, the bronze medal in the 200 metre backstroke with a 1:59.67, placed fifth on the 4×100 metre medley relay in 3:58.53, and sixth on the 4×100 metre freestyle relay in 3:37.06.[9]
At the 2016 Canadian Olympic Trials held in Toronto, Ontario, the second official trial for New Zealand swimmers to meet the qualifying times for 2016 Summer Olympics, Main completed his heat of the 100 metre backstroke event in a time of 54.27 seconds, faster than 54.36 seconds FINA A qualifying standard for the Rio Games.[14]
On 15 April 2016 Main was named as one of five Olympic debutants in a squad of eight swimmers to represent New Zealand at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he competed in both the 100m and 200m Backstroke events.[1][15][16] Main won his men's 100m backstroke heat with a time of 53.99 seconds to qualify for the semifinals. He finished 15th overall in the semifinals with a time of 54.29 seconds, but did not progress to the final. In the men's 200m backstroke event Main qualified 15th fastest for the semifinals with a time of 1:57.51 however his time of 1:58.08 was not enough to take him through into the final.[15][16]
Corey retired from competitive swimming in 2019 at the age of 24, to pursue coaching certifications and finance jobs in the United States.[17]
References
^ abc"Corey Main". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.