mmg.com.au

It sometimes only takes one moment for an athlete to feel like they belong.

That moment for Shepparton swimmer Brennan Swift came at last month’s Victorian Country Long Course Championships.

Swift, 15, claimed gold in the 14-and-15-year-old boys’ 100m butterfly and qualified for the Australian Age Championships.

His follow-up act at the weekend’s Victorian Sprint Championships was just as impressive — twice lowering his personal-best 50m butterfly time to 26.33sec and winning another gold medal.

It was an extraordinary effort, considering he relegated Australian swimming’s ‘‘Next Big Thing’’ Nicholas Groenwald, of Nunawading, to second place.

‘‘It feels great, because I didn’t think I was going to win because of the kid (Groenwald) who is the fastest in Australia,’’ Swift said at Goulburn Valley’s inter-district training last night.

‘‘But I beat him, so it was good. I’ve had no injuries this season, which has been pretty good.

‘‘I won my 100m butterfly at Countrys, which gave me pretty good confidence.’’

Swift also made the 50m freestyle final, finishing 10th after qualifying in a new individual mark of 25.93sec.

The Wanganui Park Secondary College student said he hoped to add the 50m and 200m butterfly events to his Australian Age Championships schedule.

The national event, which runs from April 13-15, will be at the South Australian Aquatic and Leisure Centre in Adelaide.

‘‘I’m just going to train really hard, because nationals is the biggest event of my career,’’ Swift said.

‘‘I’ll train every day non-stop until nationals and it will be a great experience, because all the fast swimmers will be at one place.’’

Swift’s siblings Kalen, Carter and Skye also swim for Shepparton Swimming Club and his mother, Michelle, is the co-coach.

Carter came 10th in the 14-year-old boys’ 50m backstroke final, while Jorja Bourke and Tom Houston were equal sixth and fifth, respectively, in their 14-year-old girls’ and 19-and-over men’s 50m breaststroke final.

Other Shepparton club members to place in the top 20 in at least one event were Hume Hurley, Hayley McCulloch, Ashleigh Dunning, Kalen Swift and Jake MacKenna.

Shepparton-based MLC Aquatic swimmer Connie McClelland was busy again, making finals in the 13-year-old girls’ 50m butterfly (fifth), 50m freestyle (ninth) and 50m backstroke (fourth).

Many Shepparton swimmers will be back in the pool representing Goulburn Valley on Saturday in the Victorian Country Inter-District meet at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.