EMERGING swim star Joaquin Leal-Kaiser has said he’s hoping outstanding recent performances can lead to big things.
The 14-year-old claimed a bronze medal in the Boys 14 200m butterfly at the recent Victorian Age Long Course Championships, becoming Mildura’s first state medallist in a number of years.
To cap off a brilliant week, Leal-Kaiser also achieved his first national time in the 200m individual medley, which qualifies him for the Australian Age Championships in Brisbane in April.
Ranked third heading into the butterfly final, the young gun knew it would be a tight finish.
“I feel very satisfied and very happy with the result,” he said.
“I knew it would be close even before the race, there were three swimmers including me who were within milliseconds of each other and I wasn’t sure if I would medal or not, but I managed to.
“It was a really good feeling, I smashed the water and screamed with excitement.”
While the ‘fly has become his favoured event, earning a national time in the individual medley wasn’t on the cards at all for Leal-Kaiser.
He qualified for the Australian titles during his sixth-placed finish in the event final.
“Getting an age qualifying time was not something I was expecting at all,” he said.
“I wasn’t sure I’d make the final but to get there and earn that time was great.”
Leal-Kaiser, who began competitive swimming at age seven, said he feels his improvement during the past 12 months has been crucial to these results.
The youngster also has eyes on the biggest representative stage of all in his future.
“I think at last year’s state event I was ranked somewhere around 30th in the 200m freestyle and this year I was about 15th, so there’s been a bit of improvement,” he said.
“I’m hoping to make the Olympics one day. I have the goal trying to make the team in 2028 or 2032.”
