Wagga Wagga teen Ben Devries is training hard to make the team for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games
It takes a lot to fuel a jet engine and that’s exactly what Wagga teen Ben Devries is.
Teen sportsman Ben Devries runs 60km, swims 14km and cycles 140km every week in his bid to make the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.
“My mum’s grocery bill is pretty expensive,” the seventeen-year-old admits. It takes a lot to fuel a jet engine and his training partner and close friend Snaz Shaw insists that is exactly what he is.
“He is a jet. Watch his name because he will be in the Olympics one day. He is so modest for someone with so much talent. He has every excuse to have a huge ego but he is very humble,” she said.
Ben shrugs modestly at the praise and adds simply: “I hope I’m good enough, that’s my dream.”
Helping him train is his former ironman father Greg Devries. “My dad comes down and makes sure I am not bludging and am doing it all properly,” Ben says of his park and river bank training sessions in Wagga Wagga.
Ben is just one of hundreds of young athletes and sporting stars of the future who receive support from the Regional Academies of Sport.
ClubsNSW chief executive Rebecca Riant said the organisation regularly donated to the Academies to help young athletes fulfil their dreams of representing their country.
“The NSW club industry has been a long-term supporter of the Regional Academies of Sport, collectively donating over $1 million to help develop young athletes - including more than $100,000 in the past year alone,” said Ms Riant.
“This contribution reflects the enormous commitment of registered clubs to support junior sport in local communities across the state, particularly in regional and remote areas.”
Originally published as Wagga Wagga teen Ben Devries is training hard to make the team for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games
