A four-year ride with the Crimson Tide has resulted in Charlie Hawke joining the blue bloods of Australian swimming and earning Dolphin pin #873.

Hawke recently wrapped up a four-year career with the University of Alabama – known as the Crimson Tide – in the United States and will make his Australian debut at this month’s World Championships in Singapore.

New South Wales born-and-bred, Hawke has joined Brisbane’s Damien Jones’s training squad which includes middle/distance swimmer Sam Short and Olympic sprinter, and silver medallist, Meg Harris.

“From the age of 14 or 15 I had this idea that I wanted to go to college in the US. And when I got a little bit older, I started to be contacted by some US colleges,” he said.

“That was a really exciting process and the biggest attraction for me was the education piece. Education has always been a huge important aspect within my household.

“The possibility to incorporate education with my swimming was probably the biggest drawcard. So I did a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a minor in Mathematics … and now I am back home working on the next phase of my life.”

Which the 22-year-old admits is focused on LA.

At the Australian Trials in Adelaide, Hawke clocked a massive PB of 1:46.42 in the heats of the 200m free to qualify fourth through to the final.

He then dropped a few more tenths to touch the wall in 1:46.10, taking fourth overall and making the Dolphins’ World Championship squad as a part of the 4x200m free relay team.

“It’s been great to reconnect with these guys. I would come back for Trials once a year but now I am looking forward to being a bit more integrated,” he said.

“I never made a junior team but I did make the Australia A team in 2022 which competed in California. But I got covid on that trip and I only did the one race.

“You could say … I am making up for lost time.

“At Alabama, they are all about the mindset of being elite in every aspect of life and pushing yourself to be your best self.

“And I just love the process of trying to get better. I love all the intimate little pieces that go with swimming and I love the opportunities it has given me.”

Which includes a constant hankering for biscuits and gravy.

“This sounds disgusting but, in the US, I grew to love biscuits and gravy. Biscuits over there are like scones … and you have them with chunky pork. That is one thing I definitely miss.”

To borrow and substitute a line from the movie Forrest Gump: Life is like biscuits and gravy for Hawke – he doesn’t know what the next Olympic cycle will deliver but you can be sure he’ll be giving it a red-hot crack.

POD POP UP STAT: Part of Alabama’s swim team leadership group, Hawke was a member of the Red Man Group – a group of swimmers who paint their bodies in red paint to support other campus sports.