‘Bunbury Bullet’ Alex Saffy excited to be heading to Paris to pursue Paralympic gold medal dream

The swimmer dubbed the “Bunbury Bullet” has revealed his excitement to be heading to this year’s Paris Paralympic Games.

Alex Saffy will be one of 30 athletes named in the Australian swimming team to compete at the event in August, with the life-changing selection the result of a consistent display ability on the national and international stages.

The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games silver medallist is thrilled to book his ticket to Paris, fulfilling a lifelong Olympic dream.

“I’m pretty stoked to be heading to Paris,” Saffy said.

“I think it’s every athlete’s dream to achieve the pinnacle level of their sport, and to be doing that at 18 years old is surreal.”

Saffy has gone to great lengths to achieve his dreams, embracing the challenging life of a professional swimmer and facing the recent Australian trials head on.

“I’ve sacrificed a lot for this opportunity, especially moving across the country as a 16-year-old, leaving my family and close friends behind,” he said.

“It’s pretty amazing and I always think back to the 10-year-old me who was absolutely obsessed with swimming — he would be stoked to see where I am today.”

Saffy said the support he had received was a great contributing factor to his development as an athlete in his journey to Paralympic selection.

“I’d like to thank my mum, dad and siblings for all they’ve done for me. I definitely wouldn’t be at this point without them,” he said.

“I’d also like to thank my coach Martin Roberts at (the Australian Institute of Sport) for picking me up as a young guy and having faith in me, and to the South West Academy of Sport, the West Australian Institute of Sport, and all of the support staff for everything they’ve done for me.

“This support has definitely contributed to my result.”

Saffy will now take some rest before joining the other Australian newcomers and seasoned professionals in preparation for his Paralympic debut.