Local Paralympian headlines new national campaign

By Oliver Shedden

Jul 11, 2024

Col will head to Paris for the 2024 Paralympic Games which begin on August 28. Photo: Supplied. Photo by Supplied

Local Paralympic swimming hero Col Pearse and his family are the focus of supermarket giant Woolworths’ new promotional campaign, ‘Fresh Fuels the Best in All of Us’.

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Filmed on the Pearse family farm at Bamawm Extension, an advertisement as part of the campaign shows Col and his family having breakfast and undertaking everyday activities before Col starts swim training in their dam, which has been converted into the ‘Pearse Aquatic Centre’, complete with milk bottle lane ropes.

The campaign also features members of the Echuca community and his family cheering on Col as he races.

Col will head to Paris to compete in the S10 100m butterfly, 100m backstroke and 200m individual medley events at the 2024 Paralympic Games, which begin on August 28.

Col highlighted his experiences filming the campaign, mentioning how partnering with Woolworths to represent Olympians and Paralympians was a dream come true.

“I loved it; two days after the Olympic and Paralympic swimming trials, the Woolworths camera crew came down with their fancy equipment and bells and whistles to our family farm,” he said.

“It was bloody awesome working with a company like Woolies; it has always been a dream of mine to do something like this because they are partnered not only with the Olympic team but the Paralympic team as well.

“To have me training in the dam on TV representing the Olympic and Paralympic games and showing how the fresh food people power us as Olympians and Paralympians is pretty cool.”

Col also discussed the required adjustment from being a champion Paralympic swimmer to a silver screen star, saying it was easy because the campaign showed his and his family’s daily routine.

Col stands in front of the family farm dam, known as the 'Pearse Aquatic Centre', with his parents Julian and Teena. Photo: Supplied. Photo by Supplied

“It was an interesting experience being in front of the cameras; it was a lot easier than I thought because it was at our farm, so all we had to do was just do what we normally do on a day-to-day basis,” he said.

“It’s just Mum driving a motorbike, me rounding the cows up, and everyone putting hay strings through milk bottles.

“They just put some fancy cameras in front of us, and we just did it.”

Col reflected on the significance of being part of such a large campaign and how it was indicative of the hard work both he and his family had put into achieving the things he had as a young elite athlete.

The Pearse family, Stephanie, Julian, Col, the family dog Dixie, Teena, Corey and Ashleigh all featured in the campaign. Photo: Supplied Photo by Supplied

“They were a great company to work with in terms of showing our story because it’s not just my story but my family’s as well.”

“Running a dairy farm with 550 dairy cows is challenging, so having the campaign show the true story of my training in the dam and the friends and family from Echuca and the local community who helped construct the Pearse Aquatic Centre was rewarding.”

“It’s been a really special thing because it’s a milestone mark for us, knowing that all the hard work we have done in previous years and up until now has paid off.”

“It’s been amazing on my and my parents’ behalf to be on this journey and showing Australia that it takes an incredible team to build a Paralympian.”