Current student
Elijah Winnington was destined to be an Olympian from childhood.
A phenomenon in the pool since he was eight years old, he claimed a staggering 30 national age group titles and, when he qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he was the hottest of favourites for the 400m freestyle on the back of the world’s fastest time of the year.
Then he finished seventh in the final but proved his mettle by finding a way to bounce back from the greatest disappointment of his life.
“It was a dream of mine and if you snatch that away in an instant, you can imagine how that feels,” says Winnington, who contemplated quitting the sport in the wake of Tokyo. “I am definitely a work in progress.”
That “work in progress” went on to become a world champion, claiming the first individual gold of his career at the 2022 World Championships when a stunning swim in the 400m freestyle saw him record the fifth fastest time in history.
Winnington is also an Olympic medal winner, having returned from Tokyo 2020 with bronze from the 4x200m freestyle relay, and he continues to pursue his swimming ambitions while completing a Bachelor of Business at Bond University.