Boy from Bond Alex Graham graduates with water wings
Swimming: 15 October, 2018: COMMONWEALTH Games gold medallist Alex Graham is ready to graduate to the Olympics.
The Victorian has had his best ever year in the pool after claiming Commonwealth Games gold as part of the men’s 4x200m freestyle where he led off a team including Kyle Chalmers, Mack Horton and fellow Bond University student Elijah Winnington.
The 22-year-old graduated from his sport management degree at Bond University on Saturday, the end of a four-year journey as part of the Georgina Hope Rinehart Swimming Excellence Scholarship.
He believes Australia has a genuine shot at the 4x200m freestyle gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, an event the nation hasn’t won since Sydney 2000. The men’s team failed to medal in the past two Olympics. Graham was not selected for the 2016 Rio Games.
“We have a great group of guys doing the 200m in Australia at the moment. It is the toughest event – I might be a little biased – in terms of depth,” said Graham.
“We have eight to 10 guys who have potential to be on that relay team. I feel we have a great chance to push for a gold in 2020.
“That has to be the aim for our whole team. Especially having Elijah [Winnington] in the pool training with me, as long as we are keeping each other honest and pushing each other, I think we have a really good shot.
“Next year will be massive for me. If I want to get on that team (Tokyo 2020). Next year is vital for me. That is pretty much my lifelong goal and career goal to go to an Olympics as an athlete -- it will fuel my sessions.
“To be an Olympian would be huge, especially after missing out in 2016.”
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Graham was a precocious talent in Victoria, breaking numerous age-group records held by his hero Michael Klim and racking up national titles for fun.
But his transition into senior competition wasn’t as smooth, with the move to Bond University making him not only a better swimmer, but a more mature person.
“I just missed out on the Glasgow Games in 2014 and I was 18. My swimming was at a low point there, I plateaued, which was hard being a really good age group swimmer,” said Graham.
“Moving up to the Gold Coast and a change of scenery and trying new things in the pool has really helped.
“I was a very strong age group swimmer from 14 to 17. I was winning age group championships and when you are that age, you think you’ll just keep going and always be winning.
“I went to Worlds in 2013 and didn’t have a great swim. I swam two seconds over my PB and it was the first time I felt like I had failed on the big stage. That took its toll on me.
“I didn’t know how to deal with it. It took me two years to find that groove again.
“The biggest thing was training here at Bond with Cam McEvoy and I learnt so much.
“Just how he went about his training -- Cam’s the fastest 100m freestyler ever, so to get in the pool every day with him, pick his brain, even try to beat him in day-to-day training, that really helped.
“It taught me about training and the sacrifices you have to make. In hindsight you think about what you’ve done in the past and, `Why didn’t I make that Olympic team in 2016?’ and I can honestly say that I didn’t train as hard as I could.
“At the time you think you are training hard and doing the right things, but working with him and the team here showed me how much harder you can train.”
Picture: Commonwealth Games gold medallist Alex Graham in the pool at Bond University where he graduated on Saturday. Picture: Cavan Flynn
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