By Tania Phillips
He needs a personal best and to touch the wall second.
It’s a short sentence but it has a big meaning for Stanthorpe’s Armbruster family
Stanthorpe Swimmer Ben Armbruster will know by Saturday night if he will achieve his dream of making the Olympics this time around.
The 22-year-old, who is currently studying and training on the Gold Coast, is lining up with the cream of Australian swimming at the Olympic trials at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre this week taking part in the 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly.
He has just has to touch the wall second in the final of either or both events and he will book a trip to the Paris Olympics – not bad for a boy from Stanthorpe, who unlike most of the other swimmers at the titles, came through a country club and not an elite program.
It’s that country upbringing that motivates him according to his mother Shannon and a recent interview with him on Bond University’s website, where he’s currently at university and training with coach Chris Mooney.
In an interview that Shannon Armbruster described as “so him” when asked about his motivation the busy young swimmer said “I think it’s where I’ve come from and the people who have helped me — my family, my first coach (Gail Smail) and the town of Stanthorpe”.
Shannon, who is currently up at Toowoomba for work, said the family would be coming from all different directions to be in Brisbane to watch him swim.
He was due to swim the 50m freestyle last night (Wednesday) and will take to the pool for the 100m butterfly in Saturday night.
“He’s feeling good,” she said on Monday night.
“I haven’t spoken to him today but I spoke to him yesterday – I’ll ring him later – but he said he’s feeling pretty good.
“They name the team on Saturday night, they have a big parent meet and greet on Sunday in Brisbane. He’s knows what he’s got to do and he knows what times he’s got to do, he’s just got to get his hand on the wall fast. “They only take the first two, except for the 100m free and 200m free. It’s pretty cut-throat they only take a team of 40.”
If he doesn’t make the Olympics he is hoping to go to the World Cup meets for the second year in row.
But for now all the focus is on the heats at 11am in the morning and the racing from 7.30pm at night where his family will be there to cheer him on.
“I’m working up at Toowoomba at the moment so I’ll be going from here and Scott (his dad) will be going from Stanthorpe and his sister is taking a day off work,” she said.
“We’re all converging and then heading over to the pool but it will be good, we’re looking forward to it.
“It’s exciting and as much as you want it for him and you want it badly, whatever happens on the day happens and the world isn’t going to end if he doesn’t get through. We’re just going to support him. But he knows that, they’ve been working with the psychologists for a while on what that feels like afterwards if you don’t make it. Some of them engage in it really well and other’s go ‘oh I don’t need that’ but Ben’s been doing a lot of work. We have been hearing a fair bit about it and it s great.”
She said she thought that Swimming Australia had prepared both the swimmers and the parents very well for the trials this year.
“They’ve made significant changes in a lot of the stuff we’ve been doing,” Shannon said.
“When nationals were on we went to a parents information night there and they were well presented. They had key staff there that will be managing the team going to Paris and then they did a follow up one a few weeks later and just provided a heap of information saying this is what it’s going to look like, these are our plans. All the accommodation is done. Everything literally laid out for everybody so you had a really good idea of what is going to happen.”
This time around they have organised their own chef to go with the team.
“That’s amazing because I know when Ben went over for the Commonwealth Games the food was terrible so they’re taking an Australian chef so they get food that they’re familiar with,” she said.
“I was pretty impressed with it, lots of though has gone into it.
“Fingers crossed.
“Fingers on walls – that’s all we’re waiting for.
“I’m looking forward to seeing him race because I don’t get to see him race very often. I hear about the training and the ups and downs of the training – two weeks ago they were spewing at the end of the pool they were working that hard. I said that’s a good swim now mate.”
He needs a PB and to touch second – that’s all Armbruster needs to do.
“Two magic little sentences,” she said.
“They are tiny but they are so huge. But what ever will be will be and hopefully he’s got the goods all sorted but it’s so nerve-racking for them.
“I’ll be nervous when I walk into the pool, prior to that, I’m like yeah yeah he’s going to swim on Wednesday. It’s not until I actually get in there and then I get anticipation and all the heats come through for the previous events and then your like he’s up next and you sort of sit forward on your seat a bit more. But I just love watching him swim, he’s lovely to watch. But the cream of Australia is in that pool this week, they really are.”
And for a boy from Stanthorpe that’s a pretty big deal.
“There’s not many swimmers like that there, they’ve been brought through these elite programs for a long time and Ben just toddles out of Stanthorpe,” she laughed.
