A switch to live and train in Australia has helped propel Paralympian #237 Gabriella ‘Gaby’ Smith to the global podium for the first time, as the Kiwi claimed a brilliant silver medal in the Women’s 100m Breaststroke SB9 at the 2025 World Para Swimming Championships in Singapore.
Gaby moved from her Christchurch base in February this year to take up a three-year Bachelor of Business Management degree at the University of Queensland and to train with leading Aussie coach David Hayden.
So far the relocation has gone well both inside and outside the pool for the 19-year-old, who smashed her three-year-old PB to record 1:19.56 to take silver in Singapore, and who also finished eighth in the Women’s 200m Individual Medley SM10 final.
“Winning silver meant the sacrifices I’d made by moving countries, leaving my family, boyfriend and my best friends behind showed I’d made the right decision and that something really great came out of it,” she explains.
Born with a missing left hand, Gaby, who took up competitive swimming aged 11, made her Paralympic debut at Paris 2024, claiming three top 12 finishes highlighted by seventh in the Women’s 100m Breaststroke SB9, her primary event.
Exposed to the Paralympic environment for the first time, she revelled in the experience.
“You are living in this Village of people who have spent their whole lives working for this moment,” explains Gaby, who was born in Perth to Kiwi parents before the family moved to Christchurch when she was aged eight. “The Village made the biggest impact on me. It was cool to be in that environment and to be part of community of people with impairments from other sports, not only Para swimming, competing for many countries around the world.”
Paris 2024 unquestionably lit a flame in Gaby and she was prepared to make some tough choices in order to take the next step in her Para sporting journey. Having completed year 13 at Rangi Ruru Girls’ School in Christchurch at the end of last year she decided Brisbane ticked many boxes.
“I knew the Queensland swimming programme through friends that have gone over there, so its quality was never a question for me,” she explains. “The University of Queensland is exceptional and I like Brisbane as a city, my Godmother and aunt both live there.”
Accepted by the University she started a Bachelor of Business Management in February and connected with Hayden as her coach. Training up to seven swimming sessions per week and five out of water sessions is not easy – especially as three of the swim sessions start at 5.15am. However, she has been hugely impressed by the qualities of Hayden, her new coach.
“He is an exceptional coach,” says Gaby. “He can pick up on the tiny things which seem small, but they make such a big difference. He is also such a good listener. It is so important to be a collaborative effort between the coach and I. I appreciate having a say in what I’m doing. I’ve been a lot more curious about the actions I’m taking. In terms of nutrition, I’m asking why I am doing it, and that allows me to understand the processes a lot more and that there is a reason behind everything that I’m doing.”
With two technical assistant coaches plus a video analyst also working as part of the coaching team, Gaby can access top-quality resources. Carrying out more specific sprint training than previously has also helped and training alongside a non-disabled breaststroke swimmer a couple of seconds faster than Gabby has acted as good motivation.
The elixir has worked. On the opening day of the World Para Swimming Championships, Gaby enjoyed the best performance of her career to win a silver medal in the Women’s Breaststroke SB9 and smash her three-year-old PB in 1:19.56, behind Lisa Kruger of the Netherlands.
“My 100m breaststroke definitely went to plan, I’d been trying to swim a sub 1:20 (100m breaststroke) for goodness knows how long and I felt like I needed a change, which is what lead me to the Aussie move.
However, in the moments after touching the wall in Singapore she had no idea where she was positioned in the race. “I was hoping to medal but the main goal was to PB. When I turned to look up at the stand I saw Simon Mayne (the Swimming NZ Head Coach – Paralympic) jumping up and down and looking very excited. Then when I saw second next to my name I realised why (Simon was so excited) and I put my hand up to my mouth in shock. I couldn’t comprehend it. I was exceptionally happy and really proud.”
Yet as elated as Gaby was with the performance in Singapore she is keeping her feet firmly on the ground. A silver medal at the World Para Swimming Championships is not the end game for the teenager.
“I have high expectations of myself,” she says. “It has given me confidence in my decision to move to Australia and the training that I’m doing. But now I think what could I have done to turn silver into gold. My grandma always said that second is the first last. I have confidence in my training but definitely there is more to be done.”
Next season her pinnacle event will be the 2026 European Para Swimming Championships – should it be an open event and Para athletes from outside Europe allowed to compete – or the Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships.
Better time management and juggling the twin demands of training and study is another clear goal for 2026, although in the longer term it is all about winning selection and performing at her best at the LA28 Paralympic Games.
“The main decision I made to move to Australia was with LA28 in mind,” she explains. “I’m completing a three-year (university) course which will be finished before 2028 and LA28 is going to be the pinnacle event of my life. I was so young in Paris, but by LA28 I will have enough training under my belt to be really competitive.”
Cover image: Ian MacNicol & Swimming New Zealand
