Albany Creek Swim Club Archives

Albany Creek Swim Club’s 14-Year-Old Prodigy Shines at World Deaf Swimming Championship

Photo Credit: Facebook/ Albany Creek Swim Club

A promising young swimmer from Albany Creek Swim Club has recently made headlines with his exemplary finish at the World Deaf Swimming Championships in Buenos Aires. The 14-year-old athlete took home two Bronze medals, competing in events with no age groups or divisions.

Tobi Ambrose Rinaldi proved himself as a promising young talent in the sport with his recent accomplishments which came in the form of Bronze medals in relay events – the 4 x 100m Medley Relay and the 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay – along with a personal best time for Breaststroke leg.

Albany Creek Swim Club’s 14-Year-Old Prodigy Shines at World Deaf Swimming Championship — Photo Credit: Facebook/ Albany Creek Swim Club

Tobi further showed his swimming prowess by securing a place in the Top 20 in several of the fiercely contested events including the 50m, 100m, and 200m Breaststroke, as well as the 200m Freestyle race.

Tobi’s journey into the world of swimming began when he joined the learn-to-swim program at the tender age of six months. He then gradually advanced through different squads. By the age of 11, Tobi became a member of Albany Creek Swim Club, marking his competitive swimming journey.

For Tobi’s coach and mentor, Brendan Dowling, who has been coaching the rising talent for the past two years, qualifying for the championship is a testament to Tobi’s dedication and commitment to the sport.

4x100m Medley Relay M Championship Finals

Ukraine (Vladyslav Kremliakov, Denys Nakonechnyi, Oleksii Kolomiiets and Illia Sultanov) | 3:51.14
Poland (Igor Stempurski, Konrad Andrzej Powroznik, Kacper Nowicki and Rafal Wojcik) | 4:11.04
Australia (Dylan Campbell Logan, Tobi Ambrose Rinaldi, Nicholas John Layton and Henry Vincent Hughes) | 4:16.10

4x200m Freestyle Relay M Championship Finals

Poland (Kacper Nowicki, Jakub Kramarczyk, Rafal Wojcik, Konrad Andrzej Powroznik) | 8:05.61
Ukraine (Maksym Dudnyk, Danylo Litvin, Yevhen Zaulichnyi, Ivan Zinenko) | 8:10.81
Australia (Dylan Campbell Logan, Henry Vincent Hughes, Tobi Ambrose Rinaldi, Nicholas John Layton) | 8:33.98

This year’s championship took place from 14 to 19 August 2023 and was participated in by 31 countries.

Published 29-September-2023

Albany Creek Swim Club Member Brianna Thompson Swam a Rare Two-Way English Channel Crossing

Brianna Thompson has just become the second youngest person to do a double English Channel crossing, barely a year after she completed a one-way crossing from Samphire Hoe to France in less than 12 hours.

Resting on her laurels is definitely not her thing. Last 10 July 2019, Brianna Thompson accomplished yet another feat, one that only a handful of individuals have so far completed, a solo two-way English Channel crossing.

“This time last year, the thought of even attempting a double crossing of the English Channel had never even crossed my mind. And yet only a couple of days ago, I had successfully completed it in 22hrs and 37mins,” Ms Thompson said.

Brianna overcame jellyfish stings, leg cramps, the threat of hypothermia, and mental anguish to finish the treacherous 68-kilometre double crossing in 22 hours and 37 minutes.

“Although, I was fit enough and could easily knock out the kms with the training I had done, nothing in my training could’ve fully prepared me for the mental challenges I would face swimming for that long.

*Photo Credit: Brianna’s Channel Swims / Facebook*

Brianna started her journey Tuesday night at Samphire Hoe, swimming towards France and braving the chilly waters to clock the first leg in 11 hours and five minutes, beating her personal one-way crossing record in September 2018.

She said that her experience in crossing the English Channel last year gave her an idea of how much it would take to cross from England to France, but her journey back to England was totally “unknown territory.”

The teenager had to be fed through a tube mid-swim because the currents are too strong for her to stop and have a food break.

“Pushing off French shores I found that it didn’t take long to get to the North-East shipping lane. However, looking at my track, I realise now why swimming through each shipping lane and the English Inshore Waters, seemed to feel like forever.

Ms Thompson said that upon seeing the lights of Dover in the distance and after swimming for more than 19 hours, she started to struggle mentally and felt like she was going nowhere. But her crew encouraged her and reassured her that she is already getting closer.

“I was so relieved when I saw the IRB being lowered into the water and Tim calling my last feed.”

About twenty-two and a half hours passed and she completed her journey back to England on Wednesday morning. Yet, her ordeal didn’t stop upon reaching dry land. She was too sore to even sit in a chair and could barely eat because of swollen throat.

*Brianna Thompson “made her mark”*
*Photo Credit: Brianna’s Channel Swims / Facebook*

Her rare feat became possible because of her amazing support team, headed by her English Channel world record holder coach, Trent Grimsey, and Brianna’s mum Elise, who had to personally raise the money for her double crossing attempt.

Once it is ratified by the Channel Swimming Association, the seventeen-year-old’s accomplishment will become the 33rd recorded solo double crossing and will be just the sixth by an Australian.

Congratulations, Brianna!

Albany Creek Swim Club Member Brianna Thompson Conquered The English Channel

Eight months of training and hard work definitely paid off well for Albany Creek Swim Club pride Brianna Thompson as she took on and conquered the English Channel last September.

Escorted by a boat named Viking Princess, which is piloted by Ray and Reg Brickell, Brianna tackled the treacherous waters of the English Channel for a gruelling 11 hours and 52 minutes.

“I never expected to swim it this year (I feel like I’ve said that a lot) and now I can’t believe I swam it in 11 hours and 52 minutes.The journey hasn’t been the easiest but I’ve gotten to meet some truly amazing people some who have helped me so much,” Brianna said on her official English Channel Swim Facebook page.

Video credit: Brianna’s English Channel Swim 2018/Facebook

Brianna’s official track across the Channel

*Photo credit: Brianna’s English Channel Swim 2018/Facebook*

Video credit: Brianna’s English Channel Swim 2018/Facebook

It was an amazing feat indeed for the 16-year-old swimmer who crossed the 32-kilometre English Channel and reached France in less than 12 hours. Her quest started at Samphire Hoe at around 2:30 A.M. local time, battling tough conditions and the elements right at the start. Tim Denyer, who was coaching and encouraging her while onboard Viking Princess, described her swim as really fast considering the 21 km/h headwinds and 33 km/h gustiness that lasted for about 7 hours, at the start of her swim.

Video credit: Brianna’s English Channel Swim 2018/Facebook

Brianna said that she was happy and relieved; she had finally got to swim after waiting for three weeks. Whilst they expected the waters to be calm that day, the conditions were the exact opposite. Apart from the rough waters, she had to take painkillers to ease the arm and shoulder pains that she had been experiencing towards the final stages of her training.

She described the final stretch of her swim as the point where her arm got seriously hurting. She, however, continued pushing forward and swimming faster to make it to the shore.

Brianna, who attends school at Wavell State High School, completed her training under the guidance of Trent Grimsey—record holder of the English Channel Swim. Despite her academic workload, she saw to it that she finds time to train and hit a minimum of 75 kilometres each week.

You are truly admirable, Brianna.