Golden boy: Bamawm’s Col Pearse celebrates during a medal ceremony for the men's 100m butterfly S10 of the swimming competition at the Commonwealth Games, at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre in Birmingham, England. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
After an emotional bronze medal at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, Col Pearse took his swimming to a shade of gold with victory at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in August.
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Pearse joined the Australian gold rush with a phenomenal swim in his pet event — the 100m butterfly — beating countryman Alex Saffy and England’s James Hollis to the wall in a time of 56.91 seconds, a personal-best for Pearse.
Winner: Bamawm’s Col Pearse won Commonwealth Games gold.
Photo by
DARREN ENGLAND
The 19-year-old from Bamawm, who joined Diamonds legend Sharelle McMahon as a Commonwealth Games medalist from the town of 527 people following the triumph, was ecstatic when speaking to the Riv.
Reflecting on his first international gold, Pearse admitted his recollection of the race was minimal after an action-packed swim.
“It’s pretty cool, I don’t really remember the race if I’m being completely honest,” Pearse said.
“The only thing I remember after the race is shaking the other boys’ hands because it’s only 56 seconds and you’ve got so much adrenaline that you sort of go into a fight-or-flight mode.
“It was a really good race; my coach and I talked about it after my break and he was definitely happy with it.
“I was aiming for the time I wanted, which was nice, and on top of that obviously the gold medal.
“The Games was a really good experience, it’s always nice to represent the green and gold but it’s even sweeter to bring a medal home.”
Family support: Teena Pearse and Ashley Pearse decked out the family living room in preparation for Col’s medal swim. Photo: Steve Huntley
Photo by
Steve Huntley
The win inspired a deluge of congratulations from the Bamawm community and surrounds, perhaps none more so than from the Pearse family, who sat glued to the television in the early hours of the morning.
Mother Teena paid tribute to her “unstoppable” son, whose rise in Australian swimming continues to gain pace.
“He’s just grown, he’s always been quite mature but now he’s unstoppable,” Ms Pearse said.
“Col has always had more energy than anyone is allowed to have. He had a blast and loved the whole thing.”
There were tense moments in the household as a presentation mix-up had the Pearse clan concerned a disqualification had taken place.
“In the swimming world, when medal presentations happen out of order it’s either because a result is disputed or there’s a disqualification,” she said.
“Ashley was doing her live result stalking and then Col called us. He rang us on messenger and said, ‘don’t stress’.
“That was a whole minute because we were getting quite concerned.”
Pearse’s achievement in the pool at the Commonwealth Games was recognised with the prestigious Australian Sports Medal, presented by Victoria Governor Linda Dessau.
“It’s nice to be recognised for my achievements at the Games, but it’s even more amazing to do it among other athletes who I formed friendships with,” Pearse said.
“It was even more special for Mum to be there. She drove all the way from home to come to the awards, so it meant a lot, it was one of those special things.”
Gold at the Games wasn’t the only accolade Pearse picked up.
Earlier in the year, Pearse lit up the pool in Madeira, Portugal at the 2022 World Paraswimming Championships.
Pearse officially delivered Australia a double of silver medals in Madeira after hitting the wall second in the men’s S10 100-metre butterfly final, his pet event.
Triumph: Pearse celebrates with Dolphins teammates following his win at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre in Birmingham. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
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Aijaz Rahi
Pearse managed a new Oceania record of 57.17 in the final, but was just pipped by Stefano Raimondi of Italy for the gold.
The result added a silver to Pearse and Australia’s medal tally at the world championships — Pearse’s second campaign — after he also reached the podium in the 200-metre individual medley.
“It’s a nice win, but it’s not the end goal,” he said.
“The end goal is a Paralympic gold medal or a world championships gold medal. It’s just those little steps towards a big goal.
“Everyone in the squad, my coach, everyone outside of the pool, we’re all aware I’m aiming for Paris.
“The training’s going to get heavy; Joel, my coach, said that January will be a scary date for us.”
