LARKIN Mitch

General
EVENT FOCUS
In 2021 he said that he would prefer to focus on one event than compete in both the 200m backstroke and the 200m individual medley. But, as of April 2021, he was still training for both. "I would rather focus on one event and do it well than two events and do them average." (stateofswimming.com, 17 Apr 2021)

REDUCED VISION
He is short-sighted but does not swim with the aid of contact lenses. "I'm short-sighted [myopic], so backstroke flags are fine but anything outside of five metres becomes quite blurry. I often touch the wall and don't know my time or position so I sometimes have to ask. Slowly, my eyes are getting a lot worse." However, he believes his vision can also help him remain focused at major events. "I don't get distracted by the crowd because I can't really see it. The 2015 Kazan world championships was a massive crowd. The 2016 Rio Olympics, same thing. I could just stay focused on what I could see which was what's around me, in the five meter radius." (fina.org, 30 Oct 2018)

COMMONWEALTH COMEBACK
He had questioned his swimming future after failing to win an individual medal at the 2017 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, but made a comeback after winning five gold medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia. "I was very low [after Budapest], my confidence was at an absolute low. I've got a lot of pride in the way I swim and in some ways I was embarrassed in representing myself on that world stage [in 2017] and not doing my country proud. It [winning five gold medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games] certainly sparked my confidence again and I love the way I'm swimming and it's fantastic. I know I'm not swimming super-fast world class times at the moment but it's all going to plan and obviously I'm building each swim from here to Tokyo [Olympic Games]." (goldcoastbulletin.com.au, 11 Apr 2018)

OCCUPATION
In January 2021 he began working as a property analyst in Brisbane, QLD, Australia. "I am very pleased to announce that I have been given the opportunity to work with one of Australia's leading property-based fund managers called Trilogy Funds. They have given me the opportunity to gain some experience in the role of assistant property analyst, a career path I want to explore post-swimming. This opportunity was too good to turn down as they are extremely supportive of my sporting commitments, whilst gaining experience in the field of property investments and finance." (Instagram profile, 11 Apr 2021; LinkedIn profile, 11 Apr 2021)