Sophie Deith, 15, and coach Nicholas Antonello are targeting more success in the future.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Shepparton Swimming Club starlet Sophie Deith has broken the Victorian Schools record for the 50-meter freestyle, and she is not stopping there as she targets the Paralympic Games in 2032.
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The 15-year-old is fast becoming one of the Goulburn Valley’s standout talents, with her latest heroics in the pool seeing her set a new standard at the School Swimming State Titles in Melbourne this year.
Under the tutelage of coach Nicholas Antonello, the teenager set a time of 48.32 seconds to claim the all-time Multi-Class record in her home state - having needed a time of 57 seconds to qualify for the event.
After taking the event by storm down at Anzac’s Melbourne Sports Centre, the Aquamoves talent admitted that she initially was not aware that she had broken the record.
“I honestly didn’t know until Nicholas told me outside the pool, but I was like ‘I did it’ because it turned out I’d knocked four seconds off my PB,” she said.
“I was still puffing, and I didn’t believe it the first time he told me because dropping four seconds off your PB is quite difficult.”
Deith’s mentor was in agreement, outlining the difficulty of his rising star’s achievement.
“It becomes harder - as you get older as you develop more,” Antonello said.
“The dropping time usually gets smaller and smaller, so it’s a huge achievement.”
Over the past couple of years, Deith has been hard at work to improve her performances at competition level, with her dedication resulting in her shaving 10 seconds off the times she was routinely posting at the age of 13.
However, her journey as a swimmer actually began at just six months old, long before she started to take part in the discipline competitively back in 2024.
“There’s days when Sophie comes home from school and is sore, but she still comes down and swims,” mum Tania Deith said.
“The whole family is really supportive of her and are always wanting to help and know how she’s gone, what she’s up to.”
That support hasn’t gone unheralded by the young swimmer.
“That support really helps.” Sophie said.
“There’s always hands going up when I need to get to Melbourne if my parents can’t get me there.
“Some days I feel so sore and tired and think I won’t be able to train, but I still go and afterwards my body feels 10 times better because the swimming helps.
“Some days it’s hard just to get to the pool, but it’s part of the sacrifice.”
Antonello believes that his protigee’s mentality and tireless work ethic will provide her with the platform for further success in the future.
“I definitely work her hard, but she always gives 100 per cent, I think obviously there’s room for improvement and things you can work on, no matter how good you are,” he said.
“But she’s come a long way, and we’ve got so many things we’re working on to help her go even further, so I’m really excited about that.”
Sophie Deith, 15, has outlined her dream of competing for her country one day.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
This latest triumph comes after the youngster also broke records in the 14-year-old class in 50m freestyle and backstroke, as well as the 15-year-old division 50m backstroke and backstroke.
Having already made her mark on the big stage down in the state capital earlier this year, the prospect has now outlined her ultimate objective of representing Australia at the Paralympic Games.
With the event set to take place on home soil in Brisbane in six years’ time, Shepparton’s great hope will be hoping to compete for the land down under as Queensland prepares to host the most illustrious event in world sport.
“It’s been a lifelong dream to go to the Paralympics, and it is quite scary that now it is in the foreseeable future,” Sophie said.
“At the moment, we are aiming for 2032 up in Brisbane so it’s quite daunting - it will be a lot of training programs from my research.
“We should be able to do it.”
Deith has cerebral palsy and credits the community element of the Shepparton Swimming Club and its dedicated Abilities Squad with providing her a platform for her triumphs.
Swimmers build confidence as part of the program, develop their skills, and have the opportunity to represent the club at Multi-Class events.
“Because we have the Abilities Squad, its so much easier to fit in as they understand I may not be able to do certain things,” the swimming prodigy said.
“They make accommodations, and Nicholas is especially good at it.”
“Seeing her develop over the past two years has been so exciting, as there’s so much talent and potential there,” her coach added.
