He will represent New South Wales at the national school swimming carnival in July at Melbourne in the AWD division’s 50m breaststroke, 50m backstroke (where he won bronze) and potentially the 50m freestyle. 

Remarkably Darcy doesn’t have a dedicated trainer but receives plenty of tips from his sister Sophie who is helping him with the finer points of competition swimming like diving. 

They’re now spending more afternoons down at the town pool perfecting each swimming stroke rather than the backyard pool where Darcy’s passion for swimming started. 

“He just blew away at the start of the race at state and swam his heart out,” father Mark Ryan said.  

Just as proud of his achievements as his parents are Darcy’s peers and teachers at King Street Public School who hope to hold some fundraisers to help pay for the costs to get there. 

Darcy said the two day competition at the Sydney Olympic Centre was a lot of fun and he made new friends from each of his races. 

To compete at nationals swimmers need to pay a $1000 entry fee that covers registration, their tracksuit and uniform, but outside of this is the cost of accommodation for the six day event and travel for family. 

Hoping to join cheer him from the sidelines are his family and grandparents who there to see his speedy performance at the state carnival. 

If you would like to help Darcy compete at the nationals you can contact father Mark on 04 373 785 09.