Jacob Smith has picked up right where he left off after stepping up an age group.
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The Gunnedah swimmer only just turned 11 but he didn't waste any time claiming a new record.
Smith broke the Swimming Gunnedah club record for the 11 years 50-metre freestyle while swimming in Dubbo. The record was set by James Clift on February 13, 2005.
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The 11-year-old is no stranger to setting new benchmarks, either.
As a 10-year-old, he also broke another record that had stood the test of time.
That club record, also in the 50 free, was held by Robert Ewing and set on March 3, 1985 before Smith broke it.
Coach John Hickey said the number of club records Smith held could have been higher if it weren't for carnivals being cancelled.
"Through covid, Jacob was breaking a club record almost every night at training for his age," Hickey said.
"We were still hoping he'd get a to a 10 years carnival so he could record his PBs and get his name in the record book but unfortunately all the carnivals were cancelled."
Hickey expects Smith's progression to continue.
"He's a very hard trainer and he works constantly at improving himself," Hickey said of Smith.
"He is unrelenting in his desire to be the best that he can be.
"That's very, very inspirational for a coach to be able to coach a kid like that because a lot of the time you're trying to motivate kids to the do the job. Not in Jacob's case."