fbpx
17 October, 2019 Sport & Outdoor Ed

Col wins bronze at the World Para Swimming Championships

Year 10 student, Col, recently made his international swimming debut at the World Para Swimming Championships which were held in London from 9-15 September.

Testament to his hard work and dedication, Col achieved wonderful success at the World Championships, winning bronze in the Men’s 100m Butterfly S10 event!

When I looked up and saw the third next to my name I thought, 'is this real?', I was so overwhelmed and exhausted. Bronze honestly felt like gold to me, it was amazing, I was blown away and smiling for an hour afterwards!Year 10 student, Col

During the 100m Butterfly event, Col broke his own Oceania record and swam a personal best time of 58.60 seconds.

Fast forward to the 52 seconds in the video below to watch highlights from Col’s bronze medal-winning race.

Col also placed fourth in the Men’s 4 x 100m Medley Relay, sixth in the Men’s 100m Backstroke S10 and sixth in the Men’s 200m Individual Medley (SM10).

  • col-wins-bronze-at-the-world-para-swimming-championships
    Col swimming in the heats for the 100m Butterfly S10
  • col-wins-bronze-at-the-world-para-swimming-championships
    Col cheering on his teammates in the 4x 100m Medley Relay

“It’s pretty exciting as it’s my first year with the Dolphins Swimming Team and I’m still only 16 years old,” he said.

Col is a rookie member of the Australians Dolphins Swimming Team and travelled with the team to Manchester prior to the World Championships.

In Manchester, the team spent seven-days at a staging camp, where they adjusted to the time zone, became accustomed to their teammates and trained together before making the trip to London.

Col wins bronze at the World Para Swimming Championships Col with fellow rookie and roommate William at the staging camp in Manchester

Following his success at the World Championships, Col received the exciting news that he has been awarded a full scholarship to the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS).

“Now I’ve got a full scholarship it means that I can use all the VIS facilities like the gym, physiotherapy, massage and pool,” said Col. “It’s really exciting!”

Col’s performance at the World Championships also brings him closer to his goal of qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

“My goal since I was 8 years old was to make the Tokyo Paralympic team and continue to make the Australian team for the remainder of my swimming career,” said Col. “I have already swum the qualifying time to make the Tokyo Paralympic team so I just have to do it again at trials in June next year.”

We are incredibly proud of Col and his achievements and wish him all the best as he prepares for Tokyo 2020.