WAGGA Swim Club member Kade Knight is confident he can produce the best swim of his burgeoning career so far when it matters most at his Australian Open Swimming Championships debut this week.
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The 18-year-old will compete in the 200m individual medley on Friday, before finishing with his pet event the 200m butterfly and 400m individual medley on Saturday.
His family made the drive to the South Australian capital this week, and Knight is confident he'll make the trek worthwhile.
He will compete against the likes of Commonwealth Games silver medallist David Morgan in the 200m butterfly and three-time Olympian Mitch Larkin in the 200m individual medley.
"I'm really proud with what I've done so far just to get here, and to be able to test myself against all the top guys and Olympians," he said.
"It's pretty exciting to go up against the likes of Morgan and Larkin, and we've tried to plan it so I'll hit my peak this week."
Knight has already slashed his 200m butterfly personal best from 2:10 minutes to 2:07, and hopes to take another chunk off that in Adelaide.
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"To take another one-and-a-half seconds off that would be good," he said.
"I'd like to make the age final or the B final, it's a bit of a long shot but we'll see how we go and it depends how much time I can take off.
"Training has been going well, so it's achievable."
Knight's PB of 2:07.06 puts him 31st on the list of 40 entrants before Saturday morning's heats, with finals later that night.
He will take the chance to observe how more seasoned and experienced swimmers go about their business before big races, with the event doubling as trials for the Commonwealth Games and world championships.
"It's a good opportunity to experience to how the big boys go about their business and prepare for their races," he said.
Wagga Swim Club teammate Jamie Mooney, fresh from recently defending his 100m freestyle crown at the Australian Age Championships, will also compete in his second Open championships.
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