Warrnambool Swimming Club's Sebastian Christie-Crane wins gold medal in 50 metre backstroke at Mildura championships

While swimming has consumed the 21-year-old in the past, he is now taking the approach of going slow and seeing where the path leads him.

After a break away from the pool, Christie-Crane - a member of Warrnambool Swimming Club - returned to competition recently, taking out the gold medal in the 50-metre backstroke on the opening day of the Victorian Country Long Course Championships in Mildura.

"I was a bit sore for a couple of days after, it was very warm up there, and a tough weekend," he said.

"But it was good all things considered - Isaac (Jones) was there, so I figured we'd get one or two gold medals, but I didn't want to get left out, so I figured I'd better get one."

Christie-Crane said he was proud of the club's performance at the championships, which saw them reel in 21 medals, including eight gold to finish seventh overall.

"We've had in recent years, a team double in size and probably only came fifth or sixth overall anyway, so to come seventh with a team of around 30 was a bloody good effort," he said.

"We had a lot of younger kids who performed well and a lot of finals, and some medals which was a good surprise. It was a good performance."

Christie-Crane navigated COVID-19 lockdowns and regional-metro border splits last year while juggling his time in Melbourne for study as well as training.

He admitted it was tough to juggle both.

"I was down in Melbourne for uni last year, and I think before I got back in the water in December I hadn't trained for around three months," he said.

"I was able to get around a few of the restrictions for a while, but it got a bit tiresome and I didn't feel like going.

"I took a break from swimming for a bit, and I probably left it a little bit late to prepare for the country champs, but it went alright in the end I guess."

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Christie-Crane said the recent success in Mildura had him keen to push along his training further again.

"We'll see how this training goes, maybe I'll look at nationals, but there's a few steps in time that I need to take before I'm comfortable back at that level," he said.

"There is a fair few months before that happens, so we'll wait and see.

"In the past I probably planned more ahead but at the minute and because I took that break, I'm just taking it day-by-day now.

"I'll enjoy the process and get through it."

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