For Flynn Southam, it’s time. Long considered one of Australia’s most promising young swimmers, the Bond University student goes head-to-head with the world's best in Fukuoka, Japan this week.
While he has represented Australia before in relays, Southam’s appearance at the World Championships is his first in an individual event.
The Hancock Prospecting Swimming Excellence Scholarship holder set the scene with an impressive performance at the World Championship Trials in Melbourne last month.
Southam swam a personal best time of 47.7 seconds in the 100m freestyle, taking the silver medal just behind past Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers.
After returning to Bond University, Southam immediately resumed his preparations for the upcoming championships.
Bond’s Director of Swimming Kyle Samuelson emphasised the importance of performing under pressure on the world stage.
“Flynn’s preparation has been solid, with good attention to detail,” Samuelson said.
“Now it’s just about repeating that performance with the pressure against the best in the world.”
Historically, swimmers aiming to medal at the Olympics need to place within the top five to eight at the preceding World Championships.
“That’s why it was really important for Flynn to get that individual spot in the 100m, so that he can see what he can do on the world stage,” Samuelson said.
“He certainly wants to go to the Olympics and he certainly wants to swim individually, not just in the relays.”
Samuelson has known Southam since he first joined the Bull Sharks program at the age of nine.
“He always had ability,” Samuelson said.
“Like any athlete, there were periods where he was finding himself as an athlete, but once he made that commitment, he excelled very quickly.”
Over the past few years, the Bachelor of Psychological Science student's maturity has earned him a reputation as a dedicated team member, positively influencing those around him.
“I think most would agree that Flynn’s personal growth over the past few years has been outstanding,” Samuelson said.
“He contributes really positively to every team that he’s a part of and we’re really lucky to have him at Bond.”
Joining Southam at the championships in Fukuoka are fellow Bond students Alex Graham, Elijah Winnington and Maddy Gough.
Meanwhile, Samuelson will also be heading overseas to lead the Queensland team in the British Summer Championships.
Some familiar faces in the Queensland team are Bondies Josh Collet, Matilda King and Layla Day.
In a separate development, Jesse Coleman and Mia O’Leary have also earned spots on the Australian A team which will participate in the TYR Pro Championships in Irvine, California later this month.
Next week, Mikayla Bird will also depart for the Trinbago 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games.
These will be the first overseas meets for some of these athletes who hope to follow in the footsteps of Southam at the World Championships.
“It’s a really exciting time for some of these athletes to gain the experience of swimming under pressure in an unfamiliar country,” Samuelson said.
“That’s why the state and national bodies work really hard to get these athletes overseas, because there really is no substitute for travelling and racing.”