SUSSEX Inlet's Jasmine Greenwood is one step closer to qualifying for her maiden Paralympics, after a strong showing at this week's 2021 Australian Age Championships at the Gold Coast.
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The 16-year-old's most important result came in Monday's women's 100 metre multi-class butterfly final, where Greenwood achieved a qualifying time (1:08.27) for Tokyo - to finish fourth behind winner Paige Leonhardt (1:06.60).
"Achieving the Tokyo s10 100 metre butterfly qualifying time has certainly given me a huge confidence boost going into the Paralympic trials in June," Greenwood said.
"Hopefully I can repeat or better the time I've swum when I compete in June.
"I'm thrilled with the result, as I've been training hard this year and have been dealing with some terrible rheumatoid arthritis, not to mention dealing with year 11 studies (at Shoalhaven High School).
"This year has been very challenging but I'm continuing to get through these hurdles."
The Bay and Basin Amateur Swim Club product didn't just star in the butterfly, also clocking a number of other fast times.
She won the women's 200 metre multi-class individual medley, after producing the fastest time (2:32.84) in the heats.
In Tuesday's final, she was marginally slower (2:33.26) but still did enough to edge Tiffany Thomas-Kane and Keira Stephens for the gold medal.
The Bernie Regan Memorial Trust grant recipient also finished fourth in the women's 100 metre MC backstroke, hitting the wall in a time of 1:13.89 - to finish behind Katja Dedekind, Ellie Cole and Madeleine McTernan.
All these results are made even more impressive with the outdoor facilities and horrible weather conditions at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre.
"Despite the heavy rainfall, which have made conditions horrendous, I'm really happy with how the meet went," she said.
Greenwood, who competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, won't have any time to rest now though, as she is off to the United States on Thursday.
"I'm off to Lewisville, Texas to get classified for Tokyo 2021 and also to get in some international racing opportunity," she said.
"It'll be a whirlwind week's trip but I'm really looking forward to it."
Upon her return to Australia, Greenwood will ramp up her preparations for the Tokyo trials in Adelaide, which start on June 12.
"After my time in the US, I will continue my nine sessions in the pool per week, along with full time studying at school," she said.
"My training will be quite heavy going into these trails so I can be in my best form, to give myself the best chance of booking my ticket to Tokyo."
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