Young swimmer makes a splash

TELANI Bibby has been swimming competitively for just over a year and has already hit the pool at a national level.

Last year the Heathcote teenager was selected for a school individual medley relay team that included central Victorian swimming champion Layla Day.

“I was very shocked I was put in that team,” Bibby said. “With Layla especially, but she made it really fun and enjoyable.”

This led to regular training at Bendigo East Swimming Club where she scored a hat trick of gold medals at their recent annual short course swim meet.

Bibby competed in the 50-metre butterfly at the 2023 Australian Age Championships on the Gold Coast in April however the combination of a shoulder injury and a recent COVID infection hampered her performance.

While butterfly is her best stroke, it’s not her first preference.

“My favourites are the 50 and 100-metre freestyle but they’re the ones in which I have the least success,” she said.

“I’m not sure what my next goal is at the moment because it has always been to make it to nationals.

“I’ve done that now, so I’ve been a bit stuck as to what’s next.”

Meanwhile she’s undertaking a training schedule that has her in the pool with BESC at 6am on three weekday mornings, plus two hours each weekday evening and a two-hour session on Saturday.

“At training we all have a joke, and we have fun,” she said. “But when it comes to the serious sets, we all put in.

“In a night session we do between five and a half to seven kilometres.”

Bibby’s sporting prowess is not limited to the pool, she is also a keen netballer with Heathcote Football Netball Club and last year she was the league’s under 17 best and fairest.