YEARS of early morning starts, potential and sheer hard work have paid off for Bendigo East swimming star Cameron Jordan.
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The 17-year-old will travel to Hungary in August to compete at the 2019 World Junior Swimming Championships.
Jordan is one of 30 of the nation's top swimmers picked in the Australian squad. He is the only one from a regional centre.
His selection follows bright performances at this month's Australian Age Swimming Championships and open championships in Adelaide.
Jordan qualified for three finals at the age championships, finishing second in his signature event, the 100m breaststroke, and performing creditably in the 50m and 200m breaststroke.
He is believed to be the first Bendigo East club swimmer to be picked to represent Australia, while still living in Bendigo.
The humble and respectful teenager will attend a training camp in Slovakia, before heading to Budapest for the August 20-25 August championships.
Jordan said he had one goal for his international swimming debut.
"I am hoping to get a few personal bests and just to represent my team and country well," he said.
"Getting into a final would be a bonus.
"(Representing Australia) has always been an outside goal, something in the back of mind. I didn't have it as a specific goal as I know my competitors are extremely strong.
"Now that I have been selected, I'm planning to make the most of it."
Jordan, a student at Bendigo Senior Seconday College, credited his older sister Kate as the inspiration for him pursuing breaststroke as his preferred stroke.
He was also greatly indebted to the Bendigo East Swimming Club for his development from a beginner to a soon-to-be Australian representative.
"I have been swimming here for 10, going on 11 years - I have definitely been here a while and been through a lot here," he said.
"I've pretty much gone from the bottom groups to the top groups here and now I have Chris Geyer as my coach, who has been amazing.
"I started off with Val Campbell and she definitely gave me the base that I needed to do well.
"I've been with Chris now for probably eight years and I definitely owe a lot of my success to him."
Jordan devotes at least 10 sessions per week and roughly 15 hours in the pool at Bendigo East to his training, and spends at least five more hours around the facility in other roles.
I am hoping to get a few personal bests and just to represent my team and country well.
- Cameron Jordan
Coach Geyer described Jordan's national team selection as 'a massive achievement in country swimming'.
"We are now going to work our hardest to get Cam into the best position to perform at his peak in Budapest," he said.
"The hard work starts from here.
"We'll been working in collaboration with Swimming Australia; there will be a lot of pre-planning and progression going into that international competition."
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