Brisbane Grammar Swimming Club’s Tahlia Thornton named for world junior championships

Brisbane Grammar Swimming Club’s Tahlia Thornton named for world junior championships. The St Margaret’s Anglican Girls’ School student moved from Perth to Brisbane in a bid to improve her swimming.

Swimmers sacrifice a lot in pursuit of their dreams and for Brisbane Grammar Swimming Club’s Tahlia Thornton, part of her sacrifice was leaving her friends and family 3600km away in Perth.

But in April that tough decision was justified when she snared a place on the Australian team bound for the World Junior Swimming Championship in Budapest during late August.

Thornton said it was hard to leave her family and friends, but it had also been “easy to fit in over here’’.

Brisbane Grammar Swimming Club's Tahlia Thornton.

This process was also helped by the presence of her coach from the west, Bobby Jovanovich, who now coaches alongside Brisbane Grammar head coach David Lush.

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“Queensland has such a strong swimming program over here and I followed my coach Bobby Jovanovich from Perth,’’ said the St Margaret’s Anglican Girls’ School student.

“I came over because of the intense competition it brings and to be able to improve to the best of my ability.

“It is a really intense training program and I was really pleased with the results at nationals.’’

Part of that “intense program’’ includes training beside Australia’s No.1 and No.2 ranked backstrokers, the great Emily Seebohm and Minna Atherton, which Thornton found invaluable both in and out of the pool.

Brisbane Grammar Swimming Club's Tahlia Thornton.

Thornton said entering the recent nationals, she and her coach decided to remain calm and not worry about selection but rather simply concentrate on being the best she could be in the pool..

But now she was in the squad, she had allowed herself the satisfaction of enjoying the moment.

“You have to congratulate yourself on the achievement you have done,’’ she said.

“And I am very happy with how it has gone and this whole move to Brisbane this year.’’

This will be Thornton’s second occasion representing Australia after she made the team for Junior Pan Pacs last year.