Sadly, his great uncle passed away the night before the big meet.

But being the true champion he is, Gilson won all five of his races in record-breaking fashion.

This included the 100m breast stroke which he raced in honour of his uncle.

In this event he broke both the 16 years s14 Australian and New South Wales records.

Another highlight was Gilson’s sensational personal best time (2.37.25) in his favourite event which is the 200m breast stroke.

This win also led to him smashing the long-standing Open Age s14 record held by his mentor and close friend, Patrick Donachie.

Gilson and the gold medal winning Australian paralympic swimmer, Donachie, were team mates at the 2015 Global Games in Ecuador. 

With the more experienced athlete taking Gilson under his wing.  Gilson’s Mum, Emma, explains that it was her son’s first international meet and he was there on his own.

“Darcy was the youngest member of the team and Patrick was the oldest,” she explains.

“He mentored Darcy during the two-half weeks they were in Ecuador.” 

Always a man of few words, Gilson says he “felt great" after breaking this record. 

However, he did not have long to celebrate as it was straight back into the pool for his next race.

Results: