Kings Langley swimmer Timothy Hodge makes Paralympic debut

WHEN Timothy Hodge was recovering from his right foot amputation surgery when he was four years old, he said to his mum Cheryl: “Mum, I’ll never be good at anything now.”

Swimmer Tim Hodge has been selected to compete at the Rio Paralympics.

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WHEN Timothy Hodge was recovering from his right foot amputation surgery when he was four years old, he said to his mum Cheryl: “Mum, I’ll never be good at anything now.”

Now the 15-year-old swimmer is heading to Rio to compete in the Paralympic Games, from September 7 to 18.

The talented Kings Langley athlete developed an affinity for the pool since he was four and diagnosed with a lower-leg deficiency that prompted doctors to amputate his right foot.

He has become a name Australian team selectors had their eye on. Timothy’s Paralympic journey began when he started swimming as part of rehab and to help him feel confident in his own body.

Soon after his leg surgery, he would ask his mum to buy plastic medals from the grocery shop.

“For probably four of five weeks after his surgery, he would ask me to buy them,’’ Mrs Hodge said.

Timothy at Blacktown Aquatic Centre.

Timothy was four when his leg was amputated.

“He would put them around his neck, my neck and his dad’s neck.

“The medals represent part of his dream. He wanted to win a gold medal some day and achieve something.

“Kids that have a uniqueness or special need, they have a need to prove to themselves and others that they were as good as others. Tim wanted to prove that he could do it too.”

Swimmer Timothy Hodge trains for the Rio Paralympics.

Growing up, Timothy, who was named the Blacktown Advocate 2015 Junior Sports Star, played a different sport every afternoon, from soccer, cricket, T-ball and karate.

“He could keep up with the able bodied kids. He could hold his own and progress just the same as the other kids,” Mrs Hodge said.

But it was swimming that gave him the opportunity to come into his own in the multi-class competitions.

Multi-class swimming is designed specifically for swimmers with a disability.

Timothy swims in category S9, which includes swimmers with severe weakness in one leg only or swimmers with one limb loss.

Timothy Hodge with his Patrician Brothers’ College peers before departing for Rio.

Backstroke is the swim star’s pet stroke, but his coach Clinton Camilleri says Timothy is “quite a talent in all four strokes really”.

In Rio, he will be competing in 100m butterfly, 100m backstroke, 200m medley, 100m freestyle and 400m freestyle. Remarkably, Timothy trains only with able bodied athletes.

“Tim is the only multi class athlete in our program,” Mr Camilleri said.

“From the research I’ve done, the best multi-class athletes are the ones who train with the able-bodied athletes so they have that competition every time they train.”

“Tim is 100 per cent able bodied with what he has. What he does have, he uses.”

Mr Camilleri, who is head coach at Hills Swimming and Life Saving Club and has been training Timothy for the past 18 months, said Rio was part of his development process.

Timothy is fulfilling a dream by making his Paralympic debut.

“We are working on getting him to his full peak for Tokyo 2020. Rio will set the groundwork so he is a rounded athlete across multiple strokes.”

He may be only 15 but the 2012 Blacktown Council Young Citizen of the Year has his eyes set clearly on his goals.

“Right now I am looking forward to the Paralympics and hopefully will bring home gold,” he said. “My focus is Rio right now and then Tokyo 2020. I’ll be about 19 then and hopefully I’ll be at my peak.”

Timothy won gold in the 50m backstroke at the 2014 Australian Age Championships and the following year he secured silver in the 50m backstroke at the same tournament. His performance earned him selection to his first World Championship team.

The Patrician Brothers’ College student was named in the Australian men’s swim team at just 14 and went to Glasgow for the 2015 IPC World Swimming Championships. He competed in seven events with his best results being fourth in the 4x100m medley relay and sixth in the 100m backstroke.

Mr Camilleri said competing on the international stage at a young age was great experience for Timothy and put him in good stead for a Paralympic debut.

“Tim is a really good kid, truly a student of the sport. He wants to learn and he is a sponge at the moment.”

In 2014 Timothy broke a staggering 44 S9 class records. In 2015 he represented NSW at the Pacific School Games in Adelaide in a total of 18 multi class events. He won a total of 17 medals: 10 gold, five silver and two bronze.

He broke dozens of records and was awarded male multiclass swimmer of the meet.

Timothy uses his swimming hero Matthew Cowdry’s achievements as a benchmark for his own performance.

“Tim broke Matthew Cowdry’s 400m medley record in the Berlin open this year,” Mr Camilleri said.

Out of the pool, his heroes are his parents Cheryl and Stephen, and counts his parents and younger brother Mitchell as his biggest support. “My mum and dad have been behind me the whole time,’’ Timothy said.