Olympic swimmer Max Giuliani is inviting people to race him at Glenorchy War Memorial Pool ‘s community day on Saturday, with every challenger donating to Tasmanian charity Speak Up! Stay ChatTY.
The event celebrates the reopening of the pool, which was closed for three years.
Giuliani said the Glenorchy City Council had asked him to help out on the day. While he was there, he saw a chance to involve a local charity.
People who make a donation can race him in a race of their choice, even dog paddle, he said. If they win, he said he would match their donation.
“It should be a really fun way to get the community around the reopening while raising some money for a great Tassie cause,” he told Pulse.
He said he would swim as many laps as the kids were willing to “force me to do”.
Giuliani said losing and having to donate to the charity would leave him “not too upset to be quite honest”.
“It’s such a good cause,” he said.
Giuliani grew up in Carlton in Hobart’s southern beaches and moved to the Gold Coast nearly four years ago. He is racing in Sydney this week before flying home for a few days.
“I haven’t been home in like a whole year, so this is the longest time in my life I haven’t been in Tassie,” he said.
He described being able to give back to his home community as “so, so special”.
Giuliani won bronze in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay at the Paris Olympics. He also finished seventh in the men’s 200m freestyle at the Games.
He swam the relay alongside Flynn Southam, Elijah Winnington and Thomas Neill, with Australia finishing behind the United States and Great Britain.
At the World Short Course Championships in Budapest, Giuliani won silver in the men’s 200m freestyle and set Oceania and Australian records with a time of 1:40.36.
He finished behind American Luke Hobson, who set a world record of 1:38.61.
