FORSTER'S Australian under 17 50 metre freestyle champion, Joel Fleming has achieved a lot in a remarkably short time.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
However, Fleming says hopes this is just the start of a journey that will end up at the Olympic Games.
"That's my goal,'' he said.
"To swim for Australia at the Olympics.''
Fleming only started swimming competitively two years ago.
"I did state when I was 15 and that was my first competitive comp at swimming,'' he said.
"It sort of just led on from the surf training.
"From there I did some school swimming and I had some unexpectedly good results in a school carnival.
"I decided to do one state carnival outside of school and I surprised myself how I went. I stuck with it from there.''
He was building a solid reputation as a surf competitor with Black Head. However, the surf's in the background now.
"I'm a pool kid now,'' Fleming laughed.
He achieved his best result at the Australian Age Championships at the Gold Coast, winning the 50 metres and claiming another gold as a member of the NSW 16-17 years 4 x 50 metre freestyle relay team.
The 50 metre would appear to be a frantic splash for cash. Fleming said this is true to a degree.
"But a lot can go wrong, it's a fine tuned distance,'' he said.
"It's the ultimate sprint event and if you make one mistake there's not a lot of room to recover.''
He clocked 23.06 in the final, a personal best.
"I took .2 off by PB in the final,'' he said.
He stayed on the Gold Coast for the open championships but said his results were underwhelming.
"I was probably a bit tired from the previous week,'' he said.
Fleming added that lining up next to some of Australia's superstar swimmers was also a bit daunting.
"But I guess it's also part of the learning experience,'' he said.
He'll have a brief break from the pool before preparing for the Olympic trials in Brisbane in June.
Fleming knows he's no hope of making it to Paris.
"But it's all part of the learning,'' he said.
"I'll get to race in some big events and get more experience in that situation.''
At peak training Fleming is in the pool six days a week, with morning and afternoon sessions with coach Peter Sanders while he also spends time in the gym.
He'll dabble in the short course events over winter.
Fleming will finish Year 12 this year and he hopes to head to Canberra to train at the Australian Institute of Sport in 2025.
