Kaylah Brennan filled with renewed passion for swimming after eventful year

Since then, she has changed squads, dived into the Illawarra Academy of Sport's swimming program and had a coronavirus-induced break from the sport.

But where the drive was waning a year ago, she is now more motivated than ever to achieve her goals in the pool.

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"I had kind of lost what I loved about swimming," Brennan said. "When I moved to Wests, I started enjoying it again and having more fun.

"It was devastating to then have the pools closed because of the virus. I'd only been at the club for around six months before they were closed and my swimming was going really well again, I'd found that passion again.

"The club did really well to keep us connected with exercise programs and ensuring we remained a team."

Brennan has been named the Academy's swimmer of the year, a reward for her commitment to the sport.

The upcoming calendar remains in flux, however the summer roadmap includes the NSW Championships in December before the Australian Age Championships in April.

While Brennan is yet to return to official racing, the 15-year-old is eager to ensure she is in peak condition at the showpiece events.

"Having that time away motivated me to stay fit and really push myself once we did get back in the water.

"I'd like to get back to the times I was at before lockdown and then excel past them. I'd like to get more national qualifying times and get some good results at nationals."