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Bailey ARMSTRONG
Sport Open Water Swimming
NOC Australia   
GenderMen
Born08 Feb 1999
 Human Interest 
Sport Specific Information
Club / Team
Belgravia Swim Team: Burpengary, QLD, AUS
General Interest
Hobbies
Hiking, surfing. (Everything Open Water podcast, 01 Sep 2020)
Injuries
Gastric problems affected his preparations for the 2020 Australian Championships in Adelaide, South Australia, but he was able to compete and win two medals at the tournament. (racingandsports.com, 18 Feb 2020; SportsDeskOnline, 17 Nov 2020)
Memorable sporting achievement
Finishing seventh in the 5km event at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, Republic of Korea. (Everything Open Water podcast, 01 Sep 2020)
Other sports
He has competed in swimming at national level in Australia, and he has been involved in surf lifesaving with Northcliffe Surf Club in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia. (Everything Open Water podcast, 01 Sep 2020; qt.com.au, 18 Apr 2016)
Sport Specific Information
Why this sport?
"Some of the guys I couldn't beat in the pool I could beat in open water. At first I was actually hopeless. I remember leading my first 5km the whole way and then a bunch of boys just sprinted past me at the end. Then when I did my first 10km event there was a huge improvement. I grew up in the surf, my dad did a bit of surf lifesaving, so I was always bodysurfing. The two things of enjoying pool swimming and enjoying surf swimming really meshed well. At first I wanted to do pool swimming and open water on the side, but over time open water became the focus."
General Interest
Ambitions
To compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (Everything Open Water podcast, 01 Sep 2020)
Sport Specific Information
Name of coach
Harley Connolly [club]
When and where did you begin this sport?
He began open water swimming as a child, and competed in his first 2.5km event at about age 12. "I worked my way up and did my first 10km at age 13 or 14. There was a bit of an open water swimming culture in Miami [QLD, Australia] when I was training there. I found a liking for it."
Further Personal Information
Occupation
Athlete
Languages
English
General Interest
Sporting philosophy / motto
"The more races you do the more you learn. In open water versatility is so important. You never have pure sprinters doing the sport, and then there are guys who could swim all day but they don't have the speed for a finish if you want to be the best. If you can incorporate good surf skills, speed and aerobic capacity you'll be laughing." (Everything Open Water podcast, 01 Sep 2020)
Further Personal Information
Residence
Australia

 Competition Highlights
World Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
23 2024 Doha, QAT 5km 53:23.5
34 2023 Fukuoka, JPN 10km 1:55:32.8
32 2022 Budapest, HUN 10km 2:00:02.7
16 2022 Budapest, HUN 25km 5:09:40.3
6 2022 Budapest, HUN 6km - Team Relay  
18 2019 Gwangju, KOR 25km 5:04:10.7
7 2019 Gwangju, KOR 5km 53:34.8
World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup
Rank Year Venue Event Result
12 2023 Funchal, POR 10km 1:45:17.7
12 2022   10km  
24 2022 Eilat, ISR 10km 1:47:23.1
8 2022 Lac-Mégantic, QC, CAN 10km 1:51:18.05
12 2022 Paris, FRA 10km 1:51:50.32
22 2021   10km  
22 2021 Abu Dhabi, UAE 10km 1:48:57.6
9 2021 Eilat, ISR 10km 1:49:57.3
  2020   10km  
16 2020 Doha, QAT 10km 1:50:07.5
24 2019   10km  
5 2019 Beau Vallon, SEY 10km 1:56:14.10
13 2019 Doha, QAT 10km 1:52:34.8
36 2018   10km  
20 2018 Balatonfüred, HUN 10km 1:56:38.20
36 2018 Doha, QAT 10km 1:53:33.6
19 2018 Setúbal, POR 10km 1:57:06.24
76 2017   10km  
36 2017 Hong Kong, CHN 10km 1:53:37.9
34 2016 Abu Dhabi, UAE 10km 1:48:51.00