That’s the thing about gratitude. It makes you forget about injuries. Well, almost.

And for open water rookie Thomas Raymond, making his debut at the 2025 World Swimming Championships in Singapore, gratitude also set a path for his future.

The 22-year-old spent almost a year in a full chest-to-waist back brace as he waited for his teenage body to heal from the stress fractures caused by growth spurts.

After spending months in rehabilitation, Raymond finally discarded the cast to then teach his body to again withstand the thousands of kicks needed to complete 5km, 10km and even 20km race distances.

And now every time Raymond hits the water, it is with a sense of appreciation.

The Noosa athlete will finally get his chance to wear the gold cap as part of Australia’s crack open water Dolphins team when he contests the 5km event in the warm waters of Sentosa Island at Singapore World Championships.

Raymond, who has been on the cusp of senior selection for the past two years, would have represented Australia at World Juniors in open water swimming if not for having to put his dreams on hold due to the global pandemic.

All of a sudden, training regimes were rewritten and for Thomas, it meant waiting that bit longer for his debut in Australian colours.

“I didn’t really have a Plan B as I had already fallen in love with the sport. I met my current coach JR (John Rodgers) at an event camp and he asked me to trial with him for a couple of sessions and I think he was trying to break me,” Raymond said.

“And I just loved it. I was living in Brisbane at the time and driving up to Noosa for training, and I was fully planning to live out of my car … I had a fridge in the back … and I thought I could just train and swim. Obviously, I ended up finding a place to live but I owe JR so much.

“He is just someone that guides me through life. He’s 87 and he is still on pool deck 10 times a week … before nationals a couple of years ago, he was in ER and he called me up to visit him in hospital and we sat down for hours and chatted about swimming and life. He is a very special person.”

At the 2024 Australian Open Water Championships, Raymond won the Triple Crown by claiming the 5km, 10km and the mixed relay; and then at this year’s nationals, finished second in the 5km and 10km events, and silver in the mixed relay.

A few months later in April, on the back of high altitude training at Flagstaff, Raymond continued his good form and finished second at the 10km USA Swimming National Open Water Swimming Championships in Sarasota, Florida.

“Going into Singapore, I want to represent myself well. I am so excited to race … so my main goal is to swim my own race. I want to swim how I am feeling and not be dictated to … I love how every race is different, and I am still learning the craft,” Raymond said.

“The one thing I am certain of is, I am going to love the experience.”

POD POP UP STAT:

From open water to the open road – Raymond uses his downtime from the pool to go off roading in his 4WD. The keen camper often uses a beach break as a means of relaxation and while on campaign, will instead turn to his digital artwork to relax.