A swimming journey that began at Genesis Aquatics in Bray Park has brought Kirralee Hayes to California as part of a four-strong Moreton Bay contingent helping Australia prepare for the LA 2028 Paralympics.
The Deception Bay swimmer is one of four athletes from Moreton Bay in Australia’s 37-member Dolphins team at the three-day meet at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, from 28-30 August.
Brenden Hall, Lakeisha Patterson and Ricky Betar complete the quartet at a competition Australia is using as a strategic marker two years out from the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games.
Hayes’ comeback gathers momentum
Hayes, 22, returned to competitive swimming in 2025 after stepping away from the sport for about two years. Her comeback gathered momentum at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July, where she won the women’s 50m freestyle S13 in a personal-best 27.63 seconds and added bronze in the 100m freestyle S13.
Her swimming career has longstanding roots in Moreton Bay. Hayes was a founding member of Genesis Aquatics at Genesis Christian College in Bray Park and developed through the program before progressing into elite training environments and representing Australia at the Tokyo Paralympics.
Glasgow marked her first Dolphins team since the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where she won bronze in the 50m freestyle S13. Hayes, who competes in the S13 vision impairment class, said before the California meet that success would mean another personal best and that she hoped to reach the final.
From Bray Park to the LA 2028 pathway
Before travelling to Walnut for the Para Pan Pacs, the Australian squad visited Long Beach, where the temporary aquatics venue for the LA 2028 Para swimming competition will be built.
Para swimming is scheduled to be held at a temporary outdoor aquatics centre at the Long Beach Convention Center lot. The visit gave the Dolphins an early look at the location earmarked for competition in 2028.
Hayes’ trip comes as the Australian program begins sharpening preparations for the next Paralympic cycle. Her immediate focus remains the 50m freestyle S13, while the broader Para Pan Pacs program is giving swimmers exposure to US-specific competition demands and heats-to-finals racing.
Hall adds five Games of experience
Hall is the most experienced Paralympian among the four Moreton Bay swimmers. The five-time Paralympian has longstanding ties to Petrie, Lawnton and Burpengary and attended Pine Rivers State High School before building one of Australia’s most successful para-swimming careers.
Now with USC Spartans under coach Harley Connolly, Hall will contest the 400m freestyle S9 and 100m butterfly S9 in Walnut. His career includes three Paralympic gold medals, giving the Dolphins an experienced campaigner as Australia tests race processes and team systems at the international meet.
Patterson brings deep Moreton Bay roots
Patterson learned to swim while living on Bribie Island, trained at Southern Cross Swimming Club in Scarborough and later had links with Caboolture, Lawnton and Burpengary before joining the USC Spartans program.
The 27-year-old arrives in California in strong form after winning the 100m freestyle S9 at Glasgow in 1:02.99, breaking 1:03 for the first time. Patterson is a three-time Paralympic champion and is entered in the 100m freestyle S9, 400m freestyle S9, 200m individual medley and 34-point freestyle relay.
Her program combines three individual races with a relay assignment as Australia places added emphasis on team events ahead of LA 2028.
Betar builds on Paris breakthrough
Morayfield’s Ricky Betar enters the meet as a two-time Paralympian whose first individual Paralympic medal came at Paris 2024. He won bronze in the men’s 200m individual medley SM14 in an Oceania record, adding to the mixed 4x100m freestyle S14 silver medal he won at the Tokyo Paralympics.
Betar, 22, also trains with USC Spartans under Connolly and will race the 200m individual medley and 56-point medley relay at the Para Pan Pacs. He is among the younger experienced Paralympians in Australia’s squad as the national program builds towards LA 2028.
Hall and Patterson compete in the S9 physical impairment class, while Betar races in S14 for swimmers with an intellectual impairment.
Relay strategy extends to Brisbane 2032
Australian Paralympic program head coach Mel Tantrum has identified relays as a central focus of the meet. The Dolphins are targeting entries in the 20-point, 34-point and S14 relay categories as part of a strategy extending through LA 2028 and towards the Brisbane 2032 Paralympic Games.
The California meet brings together athletes at different stages of their careers: Hayes rebuilding after a two-year break, Hall drawing on five Paralympic campaigns, Patterson continuing a decorated international career and Betar building on his first individual Paralympic medal.
Australia is using the meet to identify strengths and gaps with two years remaining before the Los Angeles Paralympics.
Published 28-Aug-2026