Damon Cowie is delighted to be honoured as one of the 2019 Rotorua Young Achievers.

The Western Heights High School Deputy Head Boy and New Zealand national swimming gold medalist says the awards are special.

'It represents a good attitude towards work and whatever else you are into.

'In my case, it's also about sports and leadership within the school. It just shows that all that working throughout the years is shining through.”

The recipients late last year were part of the 29^th anniversary of the Young Achievers.

Damon says it's pretty cool to be up on stage with so many other worthy award winners.

'The people I was up there with are really cool, well-established people who have done great things with their respective fields so it meant a lot.”

Swimming is where Damon has made his name through Swim Rotorua and on to regional and national success.

The 18-yeaqr-old began swimming competitively aged 12 at the club and has won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals at national level plus he holds several regional and Bay of Plenty records.

Fighting back from knee surgery to swim at the 2019 national age group champs is something Damon rates highly after so long out of the water.

'I was just proud of getting there. I didn't rank very highly but I had gone faster than I had in other years and for me that was just a show of personal achievement.”

Last January he was also part of a Rotorua 4km open water relay team at the SNZ Open Water Championships that won the title.

'That means quite a bit too as I got to be with the top open water, open age group swimmers and our team managed to take it. That is probably one of my proudest swims.”

Damon has always treated his academic record as perhaps his greatest asset.

At Western Heights he achieved Excellence endorsed NCEA subjects from eleven and merit endorsed in two, gained 96 Excellence credits at Level 1 and 100 Excellence credits at Level 2.

He has also taken IGCSE and AS Level Cambridge exams and gained A grades.

All that academic excellence is leading to he hopes will be a successful career as a doctor. He is off to Otago University to study first year Health Science to start that journey.

So what is about being a doctor that attracts Damon?

'I have always liked to help people and being a doctor is not something everyone can do but I feel like I am one of the people who could do it.

'The world at the moment needs more doctors so that is something I can do for the world.”