Being born with spina bifida didn’t hinder 16 year old Lismore swimmer Benjamin Auckram from setting his sights on the Olympic Games this year.

The Trinity Catholic College student already holds six Australian swimming records and two open records, and has amped up his training regime as he prepares for the Olympic qualification trials in Adelaide next month.

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“If I make the team, I will go to Tokyo,” Benjamin said. “I probably won’t make the team this year, but it’s about getting the experience for the next one.”

Benjamin lives near the Channon and trains with the Lismore Workers swim team.

Benjamin was born with a condition that meant his spine and spinal cord didn't form properly and could lead to him not being able to walk.

Having spina bifida means Benjamin has a disability swimming classification of S7 –for someone who has the use of arms and trunk, but who may have limited leg function or is missing parts of their legs.

It’s because of his spina bifida that he started swim training with coach Peter Harvey five years ago.

“I got into swimming to lose weight and it’s good for his hips and legs,” Benjamin said.

“It really eased the pressure on my legs and makes my hips more stable.

“If I kept going the way I was, I probably wouldn’t be walking now.

“Then I qualified for the State team and I realised if I trained a bit harder, I could go further.”

Now, he also holds two open records for the 200 metre backstroke and 800 metre freestyle events.

“I also did some personal bests (PB) recently at the national swim titles on the Gold Coast. It was for the 400 metre freestyle and I made a 2 second PB to swim it in 5 minutes 31 seconds,” Benjamin said.

At the moment he is training about seven sessions a week with 1.5 sessions in the pool.

“I swim about 3.5 km every night and a couple of mornings too,” he said.

“Then I do three gym sessions of about an hour each.”

His dedicated training regime comes with the loving support of his parents, who drive from his home near the Channon into Lismore for school and training.

Benjamin was one of 12 local students who recently received a Local Sporting Champions Award from MP Kevin Hogan in recognition of his achievements.

He was awarded $550 to help with the costs of travelling to sporting event from the Local Sporting Champions grant program.