He’s the toast of swimming clubs both sides of the Border and Matthew Ward isn’t stopping until he books a plane ticket to Rio De Janeiro this year.
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The four-time nominee for the annual youth award has made great inroads in the past year in his bid to make the Australian swim team for September’s Paralympics.
Ward returned to Albury last year from Sydney and competed in a series of highly competitive meets in November.
The 20-year-old nabbed a bronze medal in the multi-class 50 metre breaststroke and a silver in a relay race at international event the Pacific School Games in Adelaide.
From there, he jetted off to the Australian Short Course Nationals in Sydney.
“Our flight was delayed by an hour, we get to Sydney and no taxis, so we had to run around looking for taxis,” Ward said.
“Eventually we got there but the accreditation closed so they wouldn't let me into the swim center.
“By some miracle they opened the accreditation for me and let me in, I raced down and swam a couple of laps of warm up and was straight on the blocks and swam my 50 metre breaststroke and I came second.
“I won my first open national medal and I beat four Paralympians in the process there.”
Ward said he had more work to do before he could make the Australian team.
“Technically I made the qualifying time for that event (100 metre breaststroke) but for Australia to take you they want you to be ranked top seven in the world before they'll pay for you to go overseas,” he said.
Last month Ward was offered a spot at the Melbourne Vicentre Swimming Club which could be the difference-maker in helping him achieve his goal.
Ward’s coach of seven years, Brian Craig from the GT Aquatic Shamrocks, said it was a million dollar program he was going to.
“Last year he was the fastest swimmer in the world over the 50 metre breaststroke short course,” he said.
”There's not a swimmer in the area that works as hard as Matthew or has a bigger heart than Matthew.
“Matthew is the first to congratulate a swimmer in their very first swim ... or put his hand on a kids back who has been disqualified and say that's all right, don't worry that’s happened to me.”
“He is the epitome of what you want someone to represent Australia to be.
“The kids in pain every day … he says you just deal with it … he’s a very humble chap.”
Ward who has hip dysplasia said he was grateful for what he had already achieved even if it was as far as he’d ever get.
He said the youth awards were always eye opening, inspiring and his favourite part was experiencing all the different achievements of other people.
