Toowoomba plays host to Olympians
It’s good to give them an opportunity to race against a few of us in our (Bond University) squad who are at higher levels in swimming. — Cameron McEvoy
SWIMMING: It’s not often there are three current Olympians and two junior Australian representative swimmers competing in the region all at once.
The Toowoomba Flyers Swimming Club yesterday hosted its Spring Meet which attracted some of the country’s fastest swimmers.
Toowoomba’s Jacob Whale and Kady Ibell competed against Australian Olympic swimmers Cameron McEvoy and Madison Wilson as well as New Zealand’s Matthew Stanley.
Up and coming Australian swimmer Elijah Winnington, who competed against Whale at the Junior World Championships in August, was also in the water.
McEvoy and Wilson competed in the swim meet as part of a strong Bond University squad.
The pair is currently training for the 2018 Commonwealth Games with the Toowoomba swim meet part of their preparations.
McEvoy said the Commonwealth Games are going to be one of the biggest events of his career, being in his home town at the Gold Coast.
The 23-year-old was impressed by the standard of competition he saw in Toowoomba, particularly with Whale competing on the Australian World junior team.
“To have someone of that calibre in the junior ranks coming up is awesome for a regional area like Toowoomba,” McEvoy said.
“He competed over in the United States in August this year.
“To have people like that in Toowoomba training here and going off and competing at nationals shows the standard is very high.”
In between his events, McEvoy took time out to talk to aspiring junior swimmers.
“It’s good to give them an opportunity to race against a few of us in our (Bond University) squad who are at higher levels in swimming,” he said.