Wagga swimmer to represent country at Junior Pan Pacs

Mooney will compete in his pet 100m freestyle, and possibly the relay, as part of a 25-swimmer squad to compete at Hawaii in August.

He won back-to-back Australian Age Championship titles in a personal best time of 50.39 seconds last month, and registered 51.01 seconds in finishing 40^th overall at last week's Australian Open Championships.

While he would have liked to have swum faster, Mooney said the short turnaround between big competitions was a new experience and he will take the lessons into his Pan Pacs campaign.

"We did find the turnaround a bit fast. There wasn't much down time or slowing down at training, we were straight back into it which is pretty hard," he said.

"It is relieving in a way, to have just one or two events (at Hawaii) and get that event right.

"It (open championships) wasn't as fast as what we were planning for, but you always have those meets where you're a bit slower.

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"While it wasn't what we were aiming for, there's a lot to take out of it and learn from."

Mooney said the Pan Pacs wasn't the top priority when competing in Adelaide, but said it will be a great chance to get more accustomed to performing in a team camp environment.

""The Junior Pan Pacs was never the main goal really, we were just going to opens to get a bit more experience against the top competitors in Australia," he said.

"To make the team is a bonus, it's unreal. It was definitely on the radar, but the main goal is for Paris 2024 (Olympics) and this experience will help me develop."

Swimming Australia high performance director Tamara Sheppard, said the country's depth was highlighted by the quality of the squad.

"The standard of performances we've seen from our pathway athletes, both at trials last week and the Australian Age Championships in April, is a reflection of the depth in Australian swimming and a testament to their commitment across a challenging period through the pandemic," Sheppard said.

"This cohort have been denied international racing opportunities for more than two years, and so the chance to tackle these meets is not only exciting for the athletes, it's also a critical part of their high performance athlete development.

The Junior Pan Pacific Championships will be held at Honolulu from August 24-27.

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