Stanthorpe swimmer Ben Armbruster competes against world’s best at 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games

Homegrown swimming star Ben Armbruster has joined an impressive roster of Southern Downs athletes competing for a medal finish at one of the highest levels of their sport this week, inspiring pride right across the region.

Stanthorpe swimmer Ben Armbruster has inspired pride and support right across the region this week with his performance on the Australian swimming team at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

The 20-year-old competed in the men’s 50m backstroke final in the early hours of Tuesday morning and placed seventh overall with a time of 25.37 seconds, just over seven-tenths of a second behind race winner Andrew Jeffcoat of New Zealand.

The young gun seemed far from intimidated by the international stage, qualifying for the final with an impressive second place in his semi-final and third-fastest time heading into the big race.

From watching Armbruster first start swimming as a seven-year-old and experience huge success as a junior athlete before skyrocketing to the highest levels of the sport, former coach Gail Smail said she was incredibly proud of his performance so far this week.

“He went over there hoping for one good swim, and now here he is going in for his third. Everything on top of this is a bonus,” she said.

SMETHWICK, ENGLAND – JULY 31: Ben Armbruster of Team Australia reacts after competing in the Men's 50m Backstroke Semi-Final on day three of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games at Sandwell Aquatics Centre on July 31, 2022 on the Smethwick, England. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

“He’s settling into it well. He was excited about being in the team, but he was nervous because he had never ever been away in a team environment before.

“This is a very new experience for him, but he’s thriving and loving it.”

The Stanthorpe-born swimmer has long been recognised as one of the state’s top up-and-coming talents and is currently training at Bond University as part of a high-performance squad under Chris Mooney, the top coach known for guiding Olympic medallists such as Kaylee McKeown to success.

Smail said she had always known Armbruster would be able to go a long way in the sport, with his natural talent backed by a fierce love of racing and competition.

She said she would be heading out bright and early to watch the big final with Armbruster’s parents, and thanked the Stanthorpe community for their huge outpourings of support and well-wishes for their homegrown talent.

“Some of the older swimmers have taken him under their wing and told him what to expect, so he’s really taking all of that on board,” she said.

“He’s more been targeted for the (2024) Paris Olympics, rather than these, so he’s doing really well.”

Rugby Sevens - Commonwealth Games: Day 3

Armbruster was not alone in representing the Southern Downs at this year’s Commonwealth Games, with Scots PGC College alumni Demi Hayes and Stanthorpe’s Charlotte Caslick co-captaining the gold medal-winning women’s Rugby Sevens team.

Hayes was last year named skipper of Australia’s Rugby Sevens squad, and remains one of the side’s leading playmakers.