A TALENTED Greenbank teenager will join 29 of Australia's elite junior swimmers to compete at the 2019 World Junior Swimming Championships at Budapest in August.
Mollie O'Callaghan's selection to the Australian side comes after she hauled four gold relay medals and four individual medals for girls' 15-year 100m and 200m backstroke and 50m and 100m freestyle at the Australian Age Swimming Championships at Adelaide in April.
O'Callaghan has recently joined St Peters Western Swim Club at Indooroopilly and will travel to Budapest with three other swimmers at her club Jenna Forrester, Meg Harris and Michaela Ryan who also made the team.
Coach Dean Boxall said O'Callaghan's professionalism and strengths would put her in a strong position at the international event.
"This will be (Mollie's) first trip away in the green and gold and I want her to be motivated and ready for the experience so she can try and make the senior team over the next few years," he said.
"The world junior championships is very challenging and absolutely world class. (Mollie) definitely does have that ability and she needs a taste of it. I just want her to be hungry and do her best.
"If she can get a medal and experience it will really help her future."
Boxall said he was impressed with O'Callaghan's results in Adelaide.
"She has this ability to stand up and race at a very high level. She is an incredibly dedicated athlete who enjoys her swimming and training," he said.
"Her strengths are her fight and tenacity...we just need to improve every aspect of her swimming and keep moving forward and get her to believe she can actually do this."
The Australian Junior Swimming Champions team includes 16 girls and 14 boys from Queensland, NSW, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.
Swimming Australia's national youth coach Glenn Beringen said he had confidence in the Australian juniors ahead of the prestigious overseas event.
"Assembling this team over the last week was not an easy process, which speaks volumes about the depth we have coming through our pathway programs and is encouraging for the future of our sport," he said.
"These 30 young swimmers will now get the chance to compete on the international stage at the World Junior Swimming Championships in August, with the aim to learn and develop skills to win when it matters most, so we're looking forward to seeing them inspire the nation."
The World Junior Swimming Championships will be held at Budapest from August 20 to August 25.
