Swimmer Stuart Swinburn set to take on the world as part of prestigious Aussie squad
RANDWICK swimmer Stuart Swinburn is ready to dive in and take on the world, after being selected for a prestigious squad that provides a pathway to the senior Australian team.
Local Sports Stars
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RANDWICK swimmer Stuart Swinburn is ready to dive in and take on the world, after being selected for a prestigious squad that provides a pathway to the senior Australian team.
Stuart, 16, is among just 22 talented teenagers selected for the 2017 NextGEN Australian Commonwealth Games Program.
It follows a strong performance in his main event, the 200m backstroke, at the Australian Age Championships in April, and selection onto the FINA team for the World Junior Championships in August.
Stuart is this week’s Local Sports Star nominee.
“It’s pretty exciting, I didn’t expect it – it’s the first time I’ve made the Australian team, it all happened really quickly,” Stuart said.
“Being part of the Commonwealth Games squad program is really good, it gives me motivation to swim faster and train harder.
“There are Commonwealth Games trials on the Gold Coast from February 28 to March 3, and if you get top two in the nation you get put on the team.”
Stuart has been a member of the University of NSW swimming club since he was five, after his mum got him into the sport for fun and water safety.
He started swimming competitively at around eight years old “at little carnivals just for fun,” and continued to climb up the ranks.
“I made some state times and kept improving. The 200m is my favourite but I also swim the 100m backstroke, 200m butterfly, and some long-distance freestyle at 1500m and 400m,” he said.
Stuart has just returned from a week-long Youth Camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra in preparation for the World Junior Championships to be held in Indianapolis, USA next month.
“We had a head coach and trained in small groups, and had lots of talks about nutrition, ASADA, and sports science,” Stuart said.
“I also got to meet (Olympian) Matt Abood, he’s a really nice and friendly guy, we got along easily and he had some good stories to tell.
“He said you’ve got to keep focused and not get too overwhelmed by the experience, and know what you have to do to perform at your best.
“It has prepared me so I know what needs to be done to get to the next level with the hard training.”
Visit localsportsstar/com.au/newslocal to nominate.
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