From Swimming Medals to Music Awards

Cody Simpson on Chasing Gold

You may not be surprised to hear that the Cody Simpson of today looks a little different from the boy he was less than a decade ago. Flashback to 2009, and the Gold Coast youngster was making waves – literally. 

Clinching gold in the under-12 100-metre butterfly final and the 200-metre individual medley at the Queensland Swimming Championships, Cody had all the markings of a swimming great. 

But that was before he swapped his goggles for a guitar – a momentous decision that would lead to a star-studded record deal and sold-out gigs around the globe. 

We caught up with Cody as he shared some golden moments from his journey so far, from swimming medals to music awards.

Winning those gold medals in Queensland was a pretty proud moment for me

The feeling of accomplishing something, of focusing – mind, body and spirit – they’re pretty golden moments, right? That’s exactly what winning those medals felt like.

I had another one of those moments earlier in the year when I realised that my records from these races were still holding up. I couldn’t help but laugh, it felt so surreal that my times from seven years ago were still setting the mark.

I learnt recently that a kid had finally broken one of my records. I was stoked for him. I got in touch just to say congratulations – job well done!

Both of my parents inspired my swimming – no question

I was born into a swimming family so I’ve been swimming for as long as I can remember. 

I started competing when I was about 10 years old – it was my first passion. I had other hobbies, of course, but swimming was something I instantly loved. It was and still is a massive part of who I am. 

Lately in particular, I’ve really been getting back into it. It’s a good form of exercise for me and the best part is I still feel a buzz when I’m in the water – the passion is still there. 

I had dreams of making it to an Olympic Games

Even so, I don’t have any regrets when it comes to the path that I chose. I’ve always believed if I put my mind to something I can do it, so I’ve never been afraid of taking a risk if I thought it would pay off. 

The decision my family and I made to relocate to Los Angeles was not a small one. In fact, it was a big risk for us. But we took it and I think we’re all very glad we did. 

A couple of mates from my swimming days have made it to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

It’s pretty cool keeping in touch with some of the swimming mates I had growing up. I’m really looking forward to crossing paths with them in Rio. 

I’ll be there watching all the swimming events. My old swimming coach will be there and I haven’t been able to watch competitive swimming for a long time, let alone at an Olympic Games. It’s going to be great!

Cody Simpson is a global ambassador for the Coca‑Cola “That’s Gold” Campaign.

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