To qualify for just one event at the CHS State Swimming Championships is an impressive achievement for any student.
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To qualify for six is nothing short of incredible.
For Cootamundra swimmer Mikayla Johnston, though, it’s nothing unusual.
Mikayla, 16, has been training for half her life and currently puts in four sessions a week in the pool.
Her hard work has paid off over the years, competing amongst the best in events including the 2010 National Championships and 2013 All-Schools State Championships.
She’s a recognised regular not just at Cootamundra Swim Club meets but by timekeepers and officials across the district.
After taking a break in 2014, officials at the Riverina Regional Swimming Carnival this month remarked they’d missed Mikayla last year.
For Mikayla that social side of the sport is just as important as the competitive side.
“It’s really enjoyable and I’ve met a lot of other people with hearing impairments who I wouldn’t have got to know otherwise,” Mikayla said.
“It’s the most social sport; I’ve made so many friends through different competitions.”
Among those friends is Australia’s youngest Paralympic medallist Maddison Elliot, who Mikayla competed with in 2010.
She considers Maddi a close friend and keeps in regular contact with her and other swimming friends around Australia.
Mikayla competes in both able-bodied and multi class events.
She was born deaf in her left ear and uses hearing aids in both, which obviously can't be used in the pool.
This means when there’s a whistle Mikayla relies on the competitors around her to know when to dive in.
The slower start didn’t stop her qualifying for five able-bodied and four multi class events at the Riverina Championships on March 6.
In fact her mum Janelle explains at one point Mikayla competed in the 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly and 100m butterfly essentially back-to-back.
“I was a bit tired by the end of the day,” Mikayla laughed.
This week, she will compete in six multi class events, earning points based on how her times compare to the world records for swimmers in her disability class, rather than on who touches the wall first.
She will be joined today by fellow Murrumburrah High School student Ryan Daley, who is competing in the 100m breaststroke.
As always her proud mum Janelle will be cheering from the poolside, providing the kind of dedicated support characterised by early mornings and long drives.
