The Sunshine Coast Daily is reporting that three Australian national team members will be permanently relocating to the University of the Sunshine Coast as part of a high performance program led by coach Chris Mooney.
Taylor McKeown, Jake Packard and Chelsea Gillett are the athletes featured on Mooney’s new squad, which has secured funding from the Queensland Academy of Sport at least until the end of the year. The program is geared towards emulating the success of Sunshine Coast’s Paralympic high performance program in an effort to establish the Coast as one of Australia’s top swimming hubs. “Sunshine Coast has always had terrific athletes and sometimes, for whatever reason, we would lose those athletes to Brisbane,” Mooney said.
The program’s vision is to cultivate a “promising new era for swimming on the Coast”, with the idea that swimmers and coaches will be encouraged to stay with their respective home programs, but have access and utilize the facilities at the university, therefore, connecting squads to the university. Former Paralympian Brendan Burkett, who is a professor at University of the Sunshine Coast, says, “We’re hopeful and confident that, like we’ve done with the Paralympic high performance program, we’ll be able to demonstrate it’s making a difference and secure future funding.”
At just 19, McKeown claimed the gold medal in the women’s 200 breaststroke at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, while Packard made his mark at last year’s Australian Swimming Championships, earning silver in the men’s 100 breaststroke. Gillett made waves at 2014’s Junior Pan Pacs, where she earned gold as part of Australia’s 400 freestyle relay.