With the 2024 Paris Games rapidly approaching, Pho3nix JX held a special clinic for youth swimmers on the final day of the Swim Australia Olympic and Paralympic Trials.
Powered by the partnership between Swimming Australia and the Pho3nix Foundation represented by Mana Global Sports and Entertainment Group, the Pho3nix JX Olympic/Paralympic Trials clinic brought 120 kids ages 9 to 13 into the Sleeman Centre in Queensland and the very same pool where their heroes would create history later that night.
Three Dolphins joined the activities: Olympians Tessa Wallace (London 2012) and Chelsea Hodges (Tokyo 2020) and Paralympian Jacob Templeton (Rio 2016). Eight coaches assisted in delivering the clinic and offered valuable insights into high performance swimming, most notably Raelene Ryan, former Paralympic Pathway Technical with Swimming Australia who has been on numerous international teams as a coach.
Over the three-hour clinic between the heats and the final competitions, the young swimmers participated in a Q&A with the Dolphins as well as two practical application stations: ‘Swimming At Your Best’ gave them the mental tools and experience around routines to ensure they can remain focused and prepare themselves for racing, while ‘Performing Under Pressure’ equipped swimmers to manage nerves or scenarios outside their normal routine and maintain their technique so they can perform in situations where pressure is thrust upon them.
“It was so exciting to do it with the lights and setup of the Olympic Trials! It made it so much fun!” said one participant.
Another enthused, “It felt good to meet the Olympians. I enjoyed telling my mum and dad what I did and learned.”
Garnering an overwhelming positive response from the participants with three out of four of them likely to recommend it to others and an average 4.7/5 rating from the clinic, Pho3nix JX continues to play a key role in developing swimmers on the green and gold runway to the 2026 Commonwealth Games Victoria and the 2032 Olympic Games Brisbane.
