Shepparton swimmer Carter Swift is setting his sights on appearing at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Shepparton swimming superstar Carter Swift is setting his sights on competing at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, as he dreams of appearing at the state-of-the-art SoFi Stadium.
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The 27-year-old first honed his talents in the pool at Shepparton Swimming Club before becoming a record-breaker for his birth country of New Zealand in the 100m Freestyle and as part of the 4x100m Relay team.
He moved to the Goulburn Valley at the age of eight and quickly showed potential under the guidance of long-time coach Willomena O’Callaghan, who served as his mentor for the next decade.
His exploits at Aquamoves provided the launchpad for his career and he eventually earned a scholarship to attend Arizona State University in the United States, where he became a nine-time NCAA Division I All-American.
Now, he has outlined his dream of heading back Stateside to represent the Aqua Blacks at the Olympics in Los Angeles in two years’ time.
Carter Swift, pictured with brother Brennan, honed his talents at Shepparton Swimming Club.
Photo by
Julie Mercer
Undoubtedly, the swimming events at the 2028 Olympics promise to be a memorable spectacle - with the action set to take place at a purpose-built swimming arena within the SoFi Stadium complex in front of a crowd of 38,000.
Swift admits that competing at the home of NFL giants, the Rams and the Chargers, would represent a true career highlight.
“They’re holding the swimming at the SoFi Stadium, one of the biggest in the world, it’s only a short time away when you think about it,” he said.
For now, the objective is to perform well at the Pan-Pacific Games this month, while continuing to hone his craft alongside current coach, the World Championships and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Thomas Fraser-Holmes.
He currently trains out of Griffith University on the Gold Coast, having moved there from Auckland in September of last year following his time over at Arizona State University in the United States.
The pathway to Los Angeles will include competing at the New Zealand Swimming Championships in the months preceding the Olympics, where he will be required to finish in the top-two of any individual event to qualify.
He must also post a time at or below the official World Aquatics Olympic "A" standard in a long-course (50-metre) pool in the lead up to LA.
Alongside this, he also harbours ambitions to compete as part of the relay squad when 2028 rolls around - with Olympic qualification being targeted via the Water Aquatic Championships in Hungary next year.
“It’s not out of the realm to think about individual qualification,” Swift said.
“But I’ll more-so be backing our relay team to get qualified.
“We’d need to get top-12 in the Budapest Water Aquatic Championships next July, so that would earn New Zealand automatic qualification for the Olympics.”
“If I come get top-four in the Olympic Trials, then I would therefore qualify for the team to go to LA, which would be unreal.”
