Col Pearse

Started: He learned to swim soon after he was able to walk. He took up the sport competitively in 2012. (sahof.org.au, 28 Sep 2020) Reason: "I wasn't really into swimming when I was younger. I was more of an all-rounder with basketball, footy, cricket and swimming. I only swam for fun but as I got better, I realised this is my sport, I'll do this." (stmichaels.vic.edu.au, 11 May 2018) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (Instagram profile, 10 Mar 2024) Awards: In 2019 he was named the Echuca Moama Junior Sportstar of the Year in Victoria, Australia. (riverineherald.com.au, 17 Feb 2020) He took part in the Queen's Baton Relay in his hometown of Echuca, VIC, Australia, ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia. (sportaccessfoundation.org.au, 16 Feb 2018) Additional Info: MOVE TO MELBOURNE At age 14 he left his hometown of Echuca, VIC, Australia, and moved to Melbourne, Victoria, to pursue his swimming ambitions. He was encouraged to make the move by Australian swimming coach Jan Cameron. "When I was 14 I decided to chase this dream and make the move to Melbourne. Basically Jan Cameron, who's now passed away, rang my mum and was like, 'Hey, can we have a meeting in Melbourne? Col has the potential to go to Tokyo [the 2020 Paralympic Games]'. So, this was back in 2017. Next thing, start of 2018, I shipped up to Melbourne and was living with my sister. That was a whole new experience, going from country kids, country mates, country family, to city boys, city girls, and just city everything." (Active Stonnington YouTube channel, 03 Dec 2021; kidsnews.com.au, 22 Jun 2021) PARALYMPIC INSPIRATION He was inspired to pursue his dream of competing at the Paralympic Games after meeting Australian Para swimmer Ellie Cole at age nine. "I think for me, when I really wanted to compete in the Paralympics was when I first met Ellie Cole after the London Paralympics [in 2012]. I got to see her three or four gold medals, which were amazing. For me, meeting Ellie at the age of nine was like a kid in the candy store. To see someone similar to me, to be able to achieve something so huge, as a kid I made that goal to go to the Paralympics." (Active Stonnington YouTube channel, 03 Dec 2021; blogs.rch.org.au, 24 Aug 2021)