By LIAM TWOMEY
FOUR times a week, Mitchell Davenport-Wright’s alarm will go off at 4:15am.
Soon after, he’s in the water, swimming lap after lap before a full day at school followed by more training at night.
While this may be daunting for some, Davenport-Wright is doing everything he can to become a champion.
The 16-year-old is a rising star of the Australian swimming scene, winning over 80 state and 40 national medals throughout his junior career.
He also claimed an open age National Title at the Australian Short Course Championships in Sydney last year.
Not content with dominating one stroke, the Williamstown resident competes in the 400-metre individual medley event.
“I swim more distance freestyle but you could say that my main event is more the 400 individual medley,” Davenport-Wright explained.
“It is a hard event to train for when you consider that to get the full benefit out of the training session, you do the same thing the whole way through. It is about finding the balance of working on what I am not good at and leaving a bit less of what I am good at.”
Davenport-Wright’s exploits haven’t gone unnoticed, with some of the best coaches in the sport quick to praise him.
Former Australian national coach Ian Pope, who is also coaching Davenport-Wright at his club the Melbourne Vicentre, is rapt with the progress being made.
“Mitch is one of the best male swimmers coming through in the Australian Age Team,” Pope said.
“(He is) a young man that always gives his best in everything he undertakes, self-motivated and driven for the highest standard.”
Davenport-Wright is now preparing for an even busier time than usual with the Commonwealth Games selection trials and the Australian Age Championships coming up.
“I’m really looking forward to making the transition from being an age group swimmer to an open age swimmer at the Commonwealth Games trials,” he said.
“As an age group swimmer you can swim easy in the mornings and make it through to the final but when it comes to open swims you really need to put in for the morning and then try and back it up for the night. That is a big challenge for me.”
Despite his already hectic schedule, there are no plans to slow down for Davenport-Wright who is targeting the ultimate success in his sport.
“I think everyone looks towards the Olympics. It is definitely my goal,” he said.
“I don’t set low standards. I want to be the best in the world. I want to hold a word record, I want to have an Olympic gold medal and if it’s possible, get as many as I can. I just need to take it step by step and see how long it takes me to get there.”
For his outstanding sporting achievements Davenport-Wright has been named this month’s Don Deeble Rising Star nominee.
The award is run by the Sunshine Western Region Sports Club in conjunction with the Star News Group.
Davenport-Wright will receive $1000 donated by the Yarraville Club Cricket Club and other prizes to assist in his future sporting goals.
The Don Deeble Rising Star Award recognises young athletes in the western suburbs who have achieved outstanding results at a state and national level.
