It has been a very busy pass couple of months after my huge winnings at our Australian open water national championships in January. 

Since then, I went down to the Australian institute of sport in Canberra and got the opportunity to train amongst some of the best including the mighty Bronte Campbell which I may say she such a lovely person and new friend of mine. I have also competed in the NSW state open championships in March and NSW Sydney Open in May both held at Sydney Olympic Park which is also an iconic and always an inspiring pool to swim in after so much history being created in that very pool. In that big weekend of racing up against some of the best in the world like Ariarne Titmus, Lani Pallister and Kaylee McKeown, I was able to grab a gold in the 1500m Freestyle which happened to be my life time best which was previously achieved 2 years ago.

We fast forward to our Australian national pool championships on the Gold Coast held in mid-April. I was in 2 finals for the 800 and 1500 freestyle which I’m very happy with as well as having swum within my top 5 best times for all of my swims. 

We are in Cairns right now on a training camp which is very hard may I add. We go away maybe twice a year leading into big competitions so we are able to isolate ourselves from external factors that may distract us or impact our ability to get the best out of ourselves. Next stop after this will be Brisbane where Olympic Trials is held in mid June. I will swim in the 400, 800 and 1500 freestyle. I will be in the final for the 1500 free but unsure about the 800 and the 400 will have heats and finals.

I have also had the pleasure of presenting with my Olympics Unleashed presentations at schools on behalf of the Australian Olympic Committee. After 2 and a half years of preparing for these moments. I have finally gotten over my fears of public speaking and even though I am a little rusty with this. I have completed 4 visits so far and I am improving every time. I am so grateful to get the opportunity to go into schools and inspire the future generation to strive for greatness. The amount of amazing kids that I have already inspired is incredible and I have a few more in the coming months ahead.

I just wanted to mention on here how lucky I am to have such an amazing community around me that support me between you all at the AAAF, fellow swimmers, coaches and my professional support team as well as all my family and friends at home with their endless love and support. It really humbles me that all my hard work and achievements have allowed me to meet and connect with such incredible people. So thankyou for being so amazing and understanding of my commitment to my sport.

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Tayla was a part of our sponsorship program – you can also participate! Go here to learn more https://aaaf.org.au/sponsorship-program