Each time Tilly King stands on the blocks, she knows she’s sacrificed more than most to be there.
That gritty mindset powered the Bull Sharks’ swimming captain to a stunning four gold medal haul at the UniSport Nationals in Sydney, which saw Bond crowned national champions for the fifth consecutive year.
King’s teammates also shone, with sprint queen Hannah Casey dominating the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle, all-star Ben Armbruster taking home four gold across the butterfly and backstroke events, and Ainsley Trotter claiming the 50m backstroke in her first year as a Bull Shark.
The Bachelor of Laws student says a relaxed approach allowed her to make a splash at the meet.
“With the training block that we’re currently in, I had no expectations on what I was going to do,” King said.
“Having no pressure really helped me – I was able to just have fun in the meet and think of it as just a really big team event.
“Swimming is stereotypically an individual sport, and this competition is team orientated which creates a different energy and atmosphere which everyone loves.”
The story of King’s rise is one of risk and reward.
At just 16 years of age, the breaststroker moved from her childhood home and close network of friends in Port Macquarie to Loreto Normanhurst boarding school in Sydney.
Though she’d claimed age group state titles, King believed that with access to more advanced facilities and coaching, she could achieve even greater feats.
And she was right.
The move led to an age group national title, taking King a step closer towards her goal of one day representing Australia.
She took a further leap when she headed north to take her place in the Bond’s swimming squad in 2023.
The 20-year-old credits the university’s world-class stable of breaststrokers and innovative coaching for her rise to the top.
“It’s so great to have other breaststrokers in the squad to train with and race against – we all push each other,” King said.
“I really look up to Gideon (Byrnes) and Josh (Collett), and they’ve always told me breaststroke is all about power and fast movements.
“I’ve been following an individualised gym program and focusing on bigger loading and more intensity with jumps, which really helps generate the power needed for breaststroke.”
King and her teammates will now turn their attention towards the Commonwealth Games trials in three weeks’ time.
With a chance to make her Dolphins debut, King will be aiming to adopt the same calm and collected approach which saw her dominate in Sydney.
“I’ll be doing all three of the breaststroke events at trials and there will definitely be pressure just because of the stakes,” she said.
“But I’m going to go out there, focus on what I’ve been practicing at training and try to enjoy it.”