Scooter’s set for Tokyo tilt

“We’ve definitely amped it up, but we’ve still got to keep working hard for the next two or three months and see if we can go even faster at Tokyo,” Patterson said.

The 32-year-old swam two qualifying times at the championships – in the 50m breaststroke (1:01.66) and the 150m individual medley (3:06.18).

“I was about 0.5 seconds off my PB for the 50m breast, so it will be nice to hopefully go under the one-minute mark in Tokyo,” he said.

“Then I did a one-second PB in the 150m IM, and that’s probably my hardest event – it’s a long distance swim for me – so I was definitely stoked about that. But, as happy as I was, it would be nice to get closer to three minutes, so we’ll see what happens in Tokyo.”

Patterson also balances working full-time at Allied Bearings and Tools in Cairns.

“I’m probably one of a few on the team that works full time so it’s definitely hard work,” he said.

“When I finish my morning training on Saturday – I work nearly every second Saturday as well – I’m stuffed.

“I need to rest for the weekend, which is hard because a lot of people my age are going out and socialising or doing something fun, but I can’t even go fishing on Sunday morning because if I wreck my Sunday sleep in, I can’t do my weekly training and work properly.

“I make a lot of sacrifices but hopefully it will all pay off in a few months time.”

Patterson was reluctant to label his upcoming Tokyo tilt a “last hurrah”.

“Never say never,” he said. “I said to my coach how about we finish in 2032 for the Olympic Games in Brisbane. Who knows what will happen, but I think to finish up on a home Games would be pretty special. But we’ll see what happens. For now, we’ll take every year as it comes.”