Daniel Fox selected for Commonwealth Games

The Redlands athlete has been chosen to compete in the men’s 200m freestyle, for what could be his second Games gold.

He is hoping to outfox his opponents to break his own S14 race world record, which he set at Glasgow’s 2014 Commonwealth Games.

While Fox, 26, trains about 25 hours every week, one thing he needs to control are race jitters.

His mother Julie Fox said her son sometimes became nervous before a swim’s start but could push through, competing in other events to prepare.

“He has a strict routine in place to calm his nerves,” she said.

“He’s raced in the Queensland states in December, the Victorian states and the New South Wales states in January.”

Fox, who scored podium finishes at both the London and Rio de Janeiro Paralympics for the event, has also added motivational speaking to his list of achievements.

He has travelled to different schools with fellow Paralympians to talk about setting goals and sporting glory as part of the QAS4Schools program.

“The children love to hear about how it feels to race with the crowds and how to do television interviews,” Ms Fox said.

“They talk about their goals, their training regime and inspire them to not let anything stand in their way of their dreams.”

Fox, who trains at the Sunshine Coast University as part of a specialised Paralympic program, is also preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

“Daniel is fitter and stronger than ever,” Ms Fox said. “It’s nice he can do something he loves.”

“He grew up with a severe learning difficulty (but) now has a lovely girlfriend who’s an ex-swimmer and studying nutrition and dietetics at the Sunshine Coast University where Daniel trains.”