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Red Beach teenager Asher Smith-Franklin found his happy place when he first jumped into a pool as a youngster.
Diagnosed with autism and intellectual impairment at the age of six, he says life is better when he’s swimming.
The 17-year-old swims in the S14 Para category and has his sights set on representing NZ as a Paralympian in Los Angeles, 2028.
His latest step towards this was securing a Bronze medal in the 200m individual medley at the Para Swimming World Series last month. The event saw athletes from more than 20 Oceania countries compete.
Along the way, his natural swimming talent has been nurtured, not only by his family but also by North Shore Swimming Club. He achieved many sporting awards at Ōrewa College, including the Sporting Excellence Award in 2022, and has broken and holds 48 Swimming NZ records in both the age group and open classifications.
Asher has been selected for the Swimming NZ National Age Pathway, which aims to support up and coming athletes, and trains with North Shore club’s high performance team about eight times a week.
He has several more big events coming up, including the Para Swimming World Series in Singapore in May.
