A non-stop travelling schedule has helped Ward inch closer to the Rio Paralympics, after only narrowly missing out on a chance to go to London in 2012. 

Ward suffers from hip dysplasia, a condition that causes tremendous pain when doing normal activities like running.

Discovering the benefits of the pool at age 12, Ward had to first learn to swim before he could even think about doing it competitively.

Now on track for a Paralympic debut, Ward was thankful for all the people that had helped him along the way.

“I’m a lot closer now than I ever have been,” he said.

“Our family made the move to Sydney last year because my sister is doing a full-time ballet program, but it’s also allowed me to train with some really experienced coaches, which has been incredible.

“I’ve spent a lot of time at Hunters Hill Swimming Club, training under Bash Zidan, who coaches Paralympian Tim Antalfy, so I’m learning a lot.

“As much as it has been great to experience different opportunities in Sydney, I love coming back to Albury and seeing how the GT Aquatics squad is going.”

Since learning to swim at GT in 2008, Ward has become a mentor to many of the up-and-coming Shamrocks, with head coach Bryan Craig among his biggest supporters.

“Bryan really encouraged me to get involved with some of the younger kids in the club, offering them advice and talking to them about their training,” Ward said.

“I really enjoy that aspect of it, it’s great to be able to give back to the club, they’ve given me so much.”

Ward is now looking to take that mentoring role a step further, pursuing his Austswim qualifications to teach swimming to the next generation of youngsters.

The satisfaction of passing on his skills and unique experience sold the job to Ward.

“Obviously a job in the water will be good for my hips,” he said.

“But I think it’s important to get those skills into the kids as early as possible, and it’s rewarding to see the kids improve, whether it be a little kid learning to kick their legs, or helping swimmers at squad level improve their swimming and see their personal best times improve, there’s a lot in it for me.”

Ward’s own personal bests have been tumbling as well, having added the 100-metre breaststroke to his repertoire.

At the Australian Nationals in Brisbane last year, Ward set a time of 1 minute, 17 seconds in the finals, beating his own previous benchmark by two seconds.

His performance cemented his place on the international stage, his time ranking him 20th in the world.

But it’s not all about swimming for Ward, who makes time for plenty of other interests outside of the pool.

The sheer amount of travelling he does for his swimming made him eligible for a pathways program for his year 12 studies, with Ward now undertaking the second year of his two-year program.

When he isn’t swimming or studying, he has a keen eye for more technical skills, having taught himself the basics in computer programming, as well as being an accomplished pianist.

Learning to compose music has proven to be an occasionally welcome distraction from the rigours of the sporting world.

“It’s nice to have something to focus on that takes your mind off things from time to time,” Ward said.

“Having things like that keeps me feeling pretty strong, mentally.

“I started swimming competitions late, which meant I had a pretty heavy reliance on my coach, family and club.

“Bryan was fantastic with me early on, he was very perceptive of my disability and helped me work out the best way to train very quickly.

“Now I’m getting that little bit older I have to take care of some of those things myself.

“In saying that, I still get incredible support from my family especially, they commit a lot of time to travelling with me to meets. It costs a lot to get around, so I’m very thankful for that.

“The people I had around me here in Albury got me from being a novice to the nationals, and hopefully I can do them proud and take it one step further.”