To pursue that dream, Kai made tough choices. He moved schools, seeking the guidance and training of highly regarded coaches. His social life took a backseat to training as he chose the pain of discipline with his training, meaning he missed out on a lot of the experiences normal teenagers had, so he could chase his wildly important goal of qualifying for the Olympics.

Perhaps the biggest challenge on Kai’s journey so far would have to be having to maintain the sacrifices and level of training through the ever-challenging time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kai qualified for several overseas events in 2020/21 including a trip to Hawaii for the 2020 Age National Championships and Russia for 2021 Junior World Championships, which he had to miss due to overseas border restrictions. That wasn’t enough to set him back though, and he got creative with his training by setting up a bungee cord in his backyard pool to add intensity to his sessions. Through all the challenges, including navigating the setbacks of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kai’s perseverance never wavered. In 2021, he won gold at the Australian National Swimming Championships in the 100m freestyle for his age group and proudly donned the Green and Gold tracksuit, representing Australia at the World Junior Championships.

His trajectory continued to soar. In 2022, Kai smashed his personal best at the Australian Nationals with a time of 49.14 in the 100m freestyle, narrowly missing out on a Commonwealth Games spot. However, he earned his place on the Australian A-team for the US National Championships, where his 200m freestyle time would have placed him 5th at the Commonwealth Games.