Australian Olympic swimmer Olivia Wunsch was only six years old when a landmark Griffith University study found that children who swam were more cognitively advanced than their non-swimming peers.
The fast lane to smarter brains: Why learning to swim helps Queensland kids in the classroom
Now aged 19, the teenage talent – who won gold as a member of Australia’s 4x100m women’s freestyle relay team in Paris in 2024 – is living proof of the effects of swimming on academic skills.
Wunsch was studying for her Higher School Certificate when she competed at her first Olympics, taking her maths textbooks to Paris to cram for Year 12 exams when she wasn’t helping Australia win gold in the pool.
Now studying part-time for a Bachelor of Commerce at Sydney’s Macquarie University, Wunsch has a busy 2026 in store – with the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Pan-Pacific Championships in Los Angeles both looming on the horizon.
Having learned to swim as a toddler at Carlile Swim’s renowned Ryde swim centre – where founders Forbes and Ursula Carlile first introduced baby and toddler swim lessons in 1961 – Wunsch credits her swim training with instilling the discipline she needs to excel in and out of the pool.
“By training so often in the week, you learn to manage your time effectively and communicate with others about what you need and what your goals are,” she said.
“Swimming has really taught me to have good relationships with all my teachers and make clear what I’m trying to achieve not only in the pool, but also in the classroom as well.”
Carlile Swim, which recently expanded into Queensland after rebranding the state’s nine Aquatic Achievers swim schools, co-sponsored a four-year Griffith University study that tested the cognitive abilities of a range of three, four, and five-year olds.
When the results were published in 2013, lead researcher Professor Robyn Jorgensen said the study found that children who swim demonstrate more advanced cognitive skills than their non-swimming counterparts.
“The children were anywhere from six to 15 months ahead of the normal population when it came to cognitive skills, problem solving in mathematics, counting, language, and following instructions,” she said.
Twelve years on – and having learned to swim as a toddler herself – Wunsch is the latest in a long line of talented Australian athletes to showcase academic excellence alongside their sporting prowess.
Having made steady progress through the national ranks after making her competitive debut as an eight-year-old, Wunsch says that when it comes to succeeding in the pool, it helps to be surrounded by positive teammates and mentors.
“My squad environment has always been a really uplifting place to be,” she said.
“It’s very empowering to go into an environment where everyone is of a similar mindset and working towards the same goals.”
Those goals saw Wunsch anchor Australia’s 4x100m women’s freestyle relay at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, where the 19-year-old chased down Torri Huske over the final 50 metres to claim a stunning victory over the heavily favoured Americans.
Chief executive Troy McDonagh says that while Carlile Swim’s arrival in Queensland will help open new elite pathways for competitive swimmers, the key mission remains saving and enhancing lives by teaching the next generation of Aussie kids how to swim well.
With summer in full swing and Queensland parents considering a range of back-to-school activities, McDonagh says there is no room for complacency when it comes to water safety – particularly with only 48 per cent of primary-school leavers able to keep themselves afloat for two minutes or swim 50 metres.
“Swimming is the only sport that saves lives,” he said. “We’re happy to say all our teachers in the Carlile Swim program are trained far beyond industry standards.”
McDonagh says Wunsch’s achievements embody the high standards set by Forbes Carlile and his wife Ursula when they founded their swim school.
“Olivia was only a child herself when Griffith University first established the link between swimming and improved cognitive skills,” he said.
“We’re immensely proud of her accomplishments, and we like to think of her as proof that learning to swim can genuinely help put kids on the path to greatness – whether that’s in the pool, or when they’re sitting down to open their schoolbooks in the classroom,” he said.
About Carlile Swim
Carlile Swim has been helping Australians learn to swim for almost 80 years. With 25 swim centres across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and the ACT, the brand has guided generations of Australians to feel comfortable in the water.
Founded by Australia’s first Olympic swimming coach, Forbes Carlile, and his wife Ursula – the first woman to coach Australia at the Olympics – Carlile Swim honours their legacy with a simple ethos: “to swim well is an asset for life.”
Find out more about Carlile Swim here
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