A chat with Rio Olympic silver medallist Mitch Larkin has the reserved backstroke bolter determined to deliver the “perfect race”.

The 19-year-old was an outside threat in the men’s backstroke events at Olympic trials before breaking through at the 2024 Australian Short Course Trials in Adelaide to claim a spot and a senior Dolphins debut at the World Short Course Championships in Budapest.

Robb will contest the 100m and 200m backstroke events in Hungary on the back of a World Cup season that saw him clock and claim two PBs and two bronze medals at World Cup meets in October.

The Gold Coaster won his first state title at 14 – just a year after being inspired by watching fellow Coast athlete Cam McEvoy and now Olympic gold medallist scorch his way to three medals at a home Commonwealth Games.

“It’s only recently that I started to take swimming seriously and one of those people that inspired me was Mitch Larkin. What he achieved was phenomenal and he told me how he was always striving for the perfect race,” he said.

“I don’t like putting pressure on myself but it opened my eyes up to not winning but executing … and I think a growth spurt also helped. Going to my first World Junior Championship also made me realise there is so much talent all around the world.”

POD POP UP STAT
Post swimming career, Enoch is thinking about a career in the Federal Police.