The numbers couldn’t have been much more impressive at the recently completed NSW high schools and primary schools swimming and diving championships as more than 8,000 thousand spectators watched 3,300 athletes rack up 23 new state records.

Held back-to-back across a week at Sydney’s Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, the events showcased some of the country’s best young swimmers who may be dreaming of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.

The first major event on the 2025 NSW Combined High Schools Sports Association (NSWCHSSA) and NSW Primary Schools Sports Association (NSWPSSA) calendars enjoyed some star power with the attendance of Paris Olympics 4 x 100m freestyle relay gold medallist Olivia Wunsch and five-time Olympic diver and two-time Games medallist Melissa Wu.

The pair attended thanks to the department’s partnership with the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and its Olympics Unleashed program.

“It was so heart-warming to see the smiles on the students’ faces when they come face-to-face with these Olympic athletes and in some instances, their idols. It was obvious that the students were really inspired by these experiences,” NSWCHSSA Executive Officer, Jacky Patrick said.

Numbers for the event’s live stream were equally impressive, already attracting more than 50,000 views.

Student commentators Gloria Tauiliili and Tahlia Greene (Westfields Sports High School) and Lucy Davidson (Pennant Hills High School) joined the live stream commentary team, getting an insight into live events and polishing their media skills at the same time.

But as always, the swimmers and divers were the biggest stars of the show.

In the NSWCHSSA event it was hard to go past Cyrus Fosberg (Tuggerah Lakes College) who scooped six gold medals and two state records in boys’ 12-15 years Multi Class events.

Chris Song (Kent Road Public School) picked up four wins and two seconds while also logging three new state records in the boys’ 12-13 years division in the NSWPSSA championships.

High school swimmers Luke Chen (Northern Beaches Secondary College, Manly Campus) won five events while Benji Lynas (Turramurra High School), Xavier Miles (Moruya High School) and Ciara Nixon (Corrimal High School) all claimed four. Declan Budd (Davidson High School) and Lily Bright-Taylor (Toormina High School) both took out four wins in Multi Class events.

Other primary school standouts were Titus Teoh (Artarmon Public School) who bagged four golds and two records while Charlie Manwaring (Jerrabomberra Public School) and Chloe Webster (Kareela Public School) each picked up two Multi Class wins.

“Our students have again produced high level performances at these events. The individual achievements and setting of new records highlight the talent that continues to shine among our next generation of student athletes,” School Sport Unit, Sport Strategy and Planning Coordinator, Darren Lang said.

The top placegetters from the secondary schools’ competition will now compete for state team selection at the upcoming NSW All Schools event while the qualifying primary students automatically take their place in the NSW team.

Both teams will compete at the School Sport Australia Championships, to be held later in the year in Brisbane and Ballarat.