Springwood swimmer Matt Wilson will compete in his second Commonwealth Games when the sporting event kicks off in Birmingham on July 28.
The 23-year-old's 200 metre breaststroke event is one of the first of the Games on Friday, July 29.
The former Winmalee High School student told the Gazette he has enjoyed a smooth lead-up to the Games after testing positive for COVID-19 in April, which affected his performance at the FINA World Championships in Budapest in late June.
"The last few weeks since worlds have been some of the best training I've done this season," he said. "I've gone back to doing 200m work again after mixing it up for most the season. [But] COVID in April definitely impacted my trials and worlds performances as I was still feeling the effect of it on my lungs."
Wilson enjoyed a couple of days off following the world championships before the Australian swim team went into a holding camp in Sabadell, Spain and then a training camp at Chartres, France.
He said he wasn't going into the Commonwealth Games "with too many expectations after a disruptive year with injuries and illness and trying out some new training".
"I just want to put my best swim forward and if I can do that and get on the podium I would be stoked with that," he said.
While the Australian swim team won't be taking part in the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Wilson said he was really looking forward to the village experience.
He said it is always exciting to represent Australia.
"The feeling never gets old. It's one of the best feelings," he said.
