When you picture a swimmer’s schedule in the lead up to a big meet, most imagine laps upon laps, time in the gym, massages and the lot. Hiking probably doesn’t make the list.
But that’s exactly where the Bull Sharks turned, getting as far away from the water as they could to prepare for the Australian Open, heading to the highest point in Australia, Mount Kosciuszko.
The trip formed part of Bond Swimming’s Thredbo altitude training camp, designed to push athletes ahead of a key stretch in the season.
Bond’s Director of Swimming, Kyle Samuelson praised his group’s training efforts since the new year.
“I’m interested to see how the guys come out of the training block, they've been training really hard down here in Thredbo,” Samuelson said.
“The Australian Open is just another step towards the Australian Trials, but it's a good time to check in and see where they’re at ahead of trials.
Bond will field a team of over 20 swimmers for the competition which serves as one of the final stepping stones before the Australian Swimming Trials – the qualifier for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Olympian Flynn Southam will be hoping to make a splash this year in the freestyle, after a quieter year in 2025.
“2025 gave me space to enjoy racing and dial in my skills without all the noise,” Southam said.
“Training over the last few months has been straightforward – just stacking wins day-to-day so I’m ready when the big moments come.”
Paris Olympian, Ben Armbruster will be hoping to make a comeback to the Australian Swimming world after narrowly missing selection for the World Championships last year.
Youngest of the squad will include Bond’s two new Hancock Prospecting Swimming Excellence Scholarship recipients – Ainsley Trotter and Campbell Wilson-Moran.
“We’re really impressed with how Ainsley and Campbell have been training and we’re excited to see how they go,” Samuelson said.
Lani Conolly and Jacob Story who represent the Cook Islands, lead Bond’s World Aquatics representation.