CONONDALE swimmer Kael Thompson is preparing to pull on the green and gold after earning selection in the Australian team for the 2026 Para Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in California.
The 19-year-old USC Spartans swimmer has been named among 37 athletes selected to represent Australia at the championships in Walnut California from August 28 to 30, securing her first Australian Dolphins cap in the process.
Thompson, who competes in the S14 classification for athletes with an intellectual impairment, qualified during the Australian Swimming Trials in Sydney alongside fellow USC Spartans teammates. She is one of six swimmers set to make their Dolphins debut at the championships.
The achievement marks another milestone in a swimming journey that began only six years ago.
“I’ve been on the Flippers team for four years, getting prepared to be a Dolphin, so making my first Dolphins team was pretty special,” Thompson said.
“Making my first Dolphins team was something I’ve worked towards for a long time, so I was very excited.”
The Sunshine Coast hinterland athlete has spent the past four years on Swimming Australia’s Flippers development program, designed to prepare emerging para swimmers for national team selection through camps and high-performance experiences.
Training under coaches Harley Connolly and Casey Atkinson at USC Spartans, Thompson said making the Dolphins team represented a significant step forward in her career.
“It means I get to go away on team and it’s a step up from where I was,” she said. “I want to make a couple of Paralympics, make a couple more teams and try to make a bit of a difference.”
Away from the pool, Thompson balances life between her family’s property at Conondale and her grandmother’s home in Maleny. A self-described “farm kid through and through”, she admits giving up time with her beloved cattle to focus on swimming has been one of the biggest sacrifices.
Her mother, Christine Peters, said the selection reward reflected years of hard work and personal growth. “She’s achieving more than what I think she believes she can,” Peters said. “Before, she was happy to settle for the hand life had dealt her. Now she’s pushing boundaries and asking for more.”
Peters said competitive swimming had helped her daughter develop confidence while overcoming challenges associated with her intellectual impairment.
Looking ahead, Thompson has ambitions of representing Australia at future Paralympic Games, with Los Angeles 2028 firmly in her sights.
More importantly, she hopes her story encourages other young people living with disability.
“It’s about showing kids that even though you are disabled, you can still swim and do whatever you want,” Thompson said.
“There is a place for everyone.”