Zoe Deacon training at Wodonga WAVES with her Nunawading team-mates

The 21-year-old, from Wodonga, is now based in Melbourne but spent this week at Wodonga WAVES training with other members of the Nunawading Swimming Club.

It was a rare opportunity for the elite group to spend time together working on their race preparation and Deacon was delighted to be back on the Border.

"It's always great to come home and to be here for a whole week is fantastic," Deacon said.

"To be staying out at the weir and training at my home pool in Wodonga is lovely.

"This week has been about recovery and working on our skills.

"We've been training pretty hard the last couple of weeks so we're winding down to the end of the year now."

Despite battling a groin injury this year, Deacon made the Australian Swimming Trials ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and is working her way back to full fitness.

Nanawading high performance coach Nick Veliades said there have been significant positives to take away from an otherwise challenging 12 months.

"Zoe's doing a really good job," he said.

"She hasn't been able to kick too much breaststroke but we've been working really hard on her rehab and we're now at a point where we're starting to rebuild her kick and her strength.

"We're starting to rework the technical components to make sure she doesn't re-injure it, build up her strength and speed gradually and our main focus for Zoe now is the World Championships and Commonwealth Games in particular, the Commonwealths being the bigger target for her, giving her an extra six months to prepare.

"I think she can absolutely make these Australian teams.

"She was only just off the time at Olympic trials and looking at the changes she's made, improving her pull, I think there's a very good chance she can make these teams moving forward.

"I'm really excited for her but we've got to keep focusing on our process.

"Making the team is the outcome but for us, the process is to keep training, getting stronger, getting fitter and having confidence that her body isn't going to break down."

Deacon and Elliott Rodgerson, another member of this week's training group, qualified for the cancelled World University Games and stead head coach Leigh Nugent shares the belief that Deacon will only get better.

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"Zoe's always had potential," he said.

"I remember first coming in contact with Zoe at a development program we ran in Victoria when she was 13 and over time, she's progressed and got to this much higher level.

"Now she's vying for the national team.

"She's had a bit of a struggle with injury and had a very patchy preparation last year but did incredibly well to get to the point she got to.

"She's had a little bit more treatment now and seems to be responding very well to that."

The coaches were full of praise for the facilities on offer at WAVES.

"The council has been fantastic with giving us the opportunity to come and use the lane space," Veliades said.

"The accommodation with the caravan park has made it a really cheap, convenient camp and really easy to organise: no frills but no fuss.

"With Zoe being from Wodonga, we thought it was a good idea to come and visit her parents, see where she's from and bring the group up to give them this experience."

In the short term, Deacon is working towards the South Australian state championships in January.

"The body is on the mend," she said.

"It's definitely getting better, which is exciting, and I'm getting back into some breaststroke, which is my main event. It's nice to be getting back into the stuff which I really enjoy."

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