They are calling him the fastest ever 10-year-old backstroker and breaststroker in Gunnedah's history.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Jacob Smith broke the pool records for his age group in the 50m backstroke (36.75sec) and 50m breaststroke (44.94sec) this month. He also clocked 1min 10.94sec for the 100m freestyle.
But the backstroke and breaststroke times will not stand as official records because they were set on a trials night.
Swimming Gunnedah head coach John Hickey said of the St Xavier's year 5 student: "We wanted to see him do it in a race, so that's [trials night] the best we could do."
Read also:
Hickey added: "And the only worry is, we may not be able to get a carnival in, because of COVID, to be able to ratify his improvement.
"But we still know he's reached the highest standard of a 10-year-old, possibly, in Gunnedah's history."
Smith has been a revelation since bursting on to the junior swimming scene, snaring a host of medals at major events.
Hickey said the youngster was "thriving" in a Swimming Gunnedah environment where member numbers were the "greatest" in the club's history.
He said the club's 9/10-year girls were also swimming fast, as was 9-years boy Josh Spinks.
"So it's all very exciting for us," he said.
Hickey's excitement was tempered slightly by the loss and impending loss of some of his best swimmers.
"Being Gunnedah, we'll lose our eldest kids," he said. "Each year we have a succession of kids who reach that 14-15 years of age and drop out.
"Like, Andre's [Steele] dropped out to do an apprenticeship. He still swims occasionally, but he's now an apprentice mechanic."
"Jed Rennick is still a schoolboy, but in the holidays he worked with an apprentice plumber ... So he'll possibly drop out next year as well, despite being one of the fastest kids in the North West.
"But that's Gunnedah."
Amelia Lush has informed Hickey that this coming summer will be her last at the club.
"But the younger kids are coming through," he said. "We've got big numbers with those younger kids."
Hickey also said Swimming Gunnedah had "a really good relationship" with Gunnedah Shire Council and the pool.
"So we get access to the pool at the right time and we've got lane space, and we've got kids thriving in the environment," he added.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark northerndailyleader.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News