Last week the talented Bathurst swimmer stood out in full army garb as she took a break from cadets, but normally she stands out because Lyons is blinding people with reflections from a fistful of medals. 

However, no matter how fast she swims or who she beats, Lyons will being going home without medals from her next event when she makes the leap to a national competition. 

Lyons has been selected in the NSW swim team for the Australian State Teams challenge, and the competition is points-based, with results in the pool rewarded with team points instead of medals.

Still, that won’t bother Lyons, who is excited to test her skills against the best swimmers in the country.

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“I’m pretty happy, just because it’s a bit of a big deal as it’s all the age groups,” she said on her selection. 

“I’m excited for travelling as a team and getting to experience the whole team environment … and racing against the other states.” 

Lyons is no stranger to extremely competitive races, with her own club of Kinross boasting plenty of talented swimmers including Emily Nobbs and Josie Gillham.

Three years ago as a 10-year-old, Lyons won six gold medals at the Pacific School Games when she she swam against some of the best Oceania has to offer.

Last year she again showed her talent in the pool when winning four gold medals at the NSW Country Swimming Championships in Homebush.

Lyons set new personal bests on her way to taking out the 50m breaststroke and 200m individual medley titles while she also won the 100m freestyle and breaststroke events.

Swimming at the national level will be another step up, but Lyons has prepared herself well for the challenges that lie in wait.

Lyons will shoulder a heavy load at the state teams challenge, with her Kinross coach Kim Taylor saying she’s in line to swim the 400 metre medley as well as several long freestyle and butterfly legs over the three day carnival.

But Taylor is backing his young charge in.  

“They’re all heavy races and the best swimmers in Australia will be there,” Taylor said. 

“She going very well, I think every year she’s made an improvement on the year before, time wise. 

“I’ve been here for two years and in that time we’ve worked on work ethic and goal setting and fortunately for me it’s all coming together.

“I get paid to do a job but the payment is these guys going faster, and that payment is worth far more than money.”