Competing in his first senior level competition on the international stage, former Springwood swimmer Matt Wilson made the final of the mens 200m breaststroke at the FINA Swimming World Championships in Budapest.
He was eighth in 2:10:37, in a race won by Anton Chupkov of Russia in 2:06:96.
“I was extremely proud to make the final at my first World Championships and really happy to finish in the top 8 in the world,” said Wilson who recently moved to Sydney for university.
“My swim in the final was hard after having two tough 200s the day before and I didn't feel like I executed the race well. I wasn't as relaxed in the first 100 like I was in my semi-final and consequently my race plan didn't quite come off and my time was slower.”
The 18-year-old swam a PB of 2:08:64 in the semi-final on July 27. “My goal coming into the meet was to lower my time and I did that in this semi. I also feel that I handled the pressure in this race really well – the Hungarian crowd was insane and it could have easily made me really nervous but I managed to control myself well.”
He also raced the 50m breaststroke placing second in his heat and 24th overall. Then he helped his team to silver in the 4x100m mixed medley relay, swimming the breaststroke leg in the heats.
“It's always an honour to represent Australia and now that I've finally got that opportunity, I'm not giving it away,” Wilson said.