Prior to last month, Bianca Fuller had never swum in a national final.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Things have now changed in a huge way.
The 16-year-old Dubbo City Swimtech star is coming off a fantastic Australian Age Swimming Championships at the Gold Coast, while she also spent an extra week in Queensland and competed at the open-age championships and experienced what it was like at the next level.
And, in what is certain to be an amazing experience, Fuller will also head to Adelaide in June to compete at the Australian swim team's Olympic trials.
"The dream is to wear the green and gold. I hope to one day to do that," the rising star said.
The chance to swim at the Olympic trials is more about a young up-and-comer gaining valuable experience and learning rather than pursuing a ticket to Tokyo.
READ ALSO:
Her efforts at the Gold Coast proved she was worthy of earning that chance.
Competing in seven events in the 16 years girls' division, Fuller made five finals at the Australian Age Swimming Championships and swam five personal bests while achieving five top 10 finishes to mark herself as one to watch.
A versatile athlete who swims the breaststroke, butterfly, and individual medley, Fuller has put in a huge amount of work into the sport since making the move to Dubbo from Warren roughly six years ago.
"I've really enjoyed training and working hard to achieve my goals," she said.
"I train every single day. A lot goes into it, not just swimming but behind the scenes and working in the gym and stuff like that.
"I love learning and even watching videos to gain knowledge about what I can work on at training."
At the Gold Coast, Fuller finished fifth in her age group in the 200m breaststroke while she was sixth in both the 200m and 400m individual medley (IM), seventh in the 100m butterfly, and 10th in the 100m breaststroke.
"My main one is breaststroke but I also enjoy butterfly and the IM to get a mixture of all the strokes," she said.
"The IM is really challenging because you have adapt to each stroke each time you turn.
"The 400m IM is very tough. I swam the heats and just though 'oh God, I've got to swim that again'. But it was really fun."
She then swam at the open-age championships but what she learnt outside the pool was more valuable than what occurred in it.
"It was great to see what will come next," she said.
"I'll be there next year and competing against those guys soon."
Adding to the excitement was the chance to meet some of Australia's best swimmers like Mitch Larkin and the legendary Dawn Fraser.
Fuller will again be alongside some of the country's best when she heads to Adelaide for the Olympic trials.
"I'm super excited to go to that. I go in June and my coach will come along with me so it will be a great experience as well," she said.
Fuller's hard-working coach is Dennis Valentine and she paid tribute to his hard work while also thanking those who've been the most important.
"Mum and Dad drive me to training and everywhere and there's a lot of expense and my coach, Dennis Valentine. has always been there and he's very dedicated and always makes sure I'm on the right track," she said.
Prior to the Olympic trials, Fuller will next be in action at the NSW All School Championships in Sydney on May 28.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News