[5] At age 17, he joined Gary Hurring in representing New Zealand at the 1984 Summer Olympics swimming backstroke, and he finished tenth in the 100m.

That year, he also earned a scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley, where his swimming developed a sharply competitive edge under the tutelage of coach Nort Thornton.

Kingsman closed his career by taking a bronze and a silver in the 1990 Commonwealth Games in his home town of Auckland, New Zealand.

In the 1990 Queen's Birthday Honours, Kingsman was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to swimming.

[6] On retiring from swimming, Kingsman took up a position as New Zealand national sales and marketing manager for Speedo sportswear.