Demi Smith's set on the Paralympics in 2032, all that's needed is time.
Her Mum, Jo, watches the 10-year-old Wallangarra student train every morning to trim down the time for her cross country stint, when other kids are sleeping-in.
She's also conscious that others "knock on the door to play" and Demi decides to prioritise her dream, the local mum telling us she's "gobsmacked" at her daughter's commitment.
"Demi trains every day, smashing goals," Jo said last weekend, pleased to again share that the girl who "couldn't swim last October" is now breaking records in the pool and on the track.
At the moment, Demi runs two kilometres in 9.18 seconds and is aiming for under 9 minutes by the time she heads to Nationals next month.
The "intense" training regime has been helped by teenager Ethan Kent, who Demi admires from their contact via Little Athletics.
Demi tells us her cognitive delays spur her, quoting a "If you dream it, you can do it" attitude.
"This time last year, I was aiming to swim at my first ever swimming carnival," the Year 5 student said. "I didn’t even really know how to swim better 50 metres in a pool. I told my mum and dad I wanted to do this and they went about their business and approached the Stanthorpe 'Y'."
From that point, Michele (Chellie) McGrath took Demi under her wing and she ended up swimming 50 metres in 4 minutes, 36 seconds, "getting better with strict coaching".
"I got up every morning at 5am to do swimming for an hour before school everyday, morning and afternoon," Demi said, also grateful to her dad, James, who does the training taxi drive, while Jo attends events. "I knew that chasing this dream was going to be hard as I wouldn’t be able to play with friends after school as I had training commitments."
Improving all the while in the pool and on the track, Demi's dream was coming to fruition and The Glennie Girls College in Toowoomba came on board with a scholarship, likely to be used after primary schooling years are completed next year.
Allora Swimming Club have also taken Demi into their fold and she made it to the
Queensland Schools Swimming Championships with their direction.
"I went to this event and represented the Darling Downs in backstroke and was one of the finalists, which was my greatest achievement," Demi continued.
Cross Country at school was her next triumph and off the family went to Darling Downs trials, Demi winning against those up to 15 years.
"I have now been training and am ready for Nationals from September 7 to 10," she said. "I am extremely excited as my dream is to go the 2032 Paralympics."
Acknowledging her parents, Jo and James, as well as trainers, Ethan and Chellie, Demi said even though "other kids are out there playing" while she trains, "it is all worth it".
