by Nicholas Duck

Warragul swimmer Isabelle Nash took to the national stage recently when she competed in the Australian Swimming Trials in Adelaide.

Isabelle, just 15 at the time, faced some of the best swimmers in the country in the 50m breaststroke event after achieving a qualifying time earlier this year.
The best performers in the Australian trials are then given the opportunity to represent the country later this year at the World Aquatics Championships.
While Isabelle wasn't expecting to get anywhere close to that level, getting a chance to be among some of Australia's finest made the trip more than worth it.
"It was a good experience. I didn't go as well as I had hoped but that was fine because it was a good experience being there with all the Olympians," she said.
"I wasn't intending on making the team by going. That wasn't my purpose for being there, my purpose was to gain experience and learn off all the really good people."
At 15 Isabelle was one of the youngest competitors at the trials, acknowledging the difference between herself and some of the more experienced swimmers.
"I wasn't nervous, I just felt really small. They were all taller than me, they were all older than me and they were all so much stronger."
She said she had a star-struck moment in the warm-up pool when she ended up in the same lane as multi Olympic gold medallist Mollie O'Callaghan.
Isabelle described her performance in the event, where she finished 62nd overall, as "terrible" - though was able to at least have a laugh about it.
"I was laughing. I did so bad I found it funny."
She's now hoping to see more recognition for breaststroke swimmers in Australia, after the 50m breaststroke was just recently included in the program for the 2028 Olympics.
The next steps for her include Commonwealth and Olympic trials, though she said she has a long way to go.
"It'll be hard. I'm up there but I'm not up there. I go 34 seconds, the time I would have to go is 30," she said.
Warragul Swimming Club alumni Callum Halloran-Lavelle also was in action, having competed at the trials before.
Callum, competing for Nunawading Swimming Club, made the final of the 50m backstroke and finished sixth, a significant milestone for the 20-year-old.
He also finished 19th in the 200m individual medley, narrowly missing the final in the process.