Paralympic athlete Matthew Cowdrey has joined the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS)/Paralympic High Performance Swim program.

Cowdrey moved to the AIS in Canberra on 25 January with a focus on preparing for this year’s Commonwealth Games in New Delhi and the London 2012 Paralympic Games. He was previously based in Adelaide, at the South Australian Sports Institute and then the Norwood Swimming Club.

‘More than anything this change gives me new stimulus and a new environment to really get myself going, refreshed and re-motivated and to go into the 2012 London Olympics in the best possible mental and physical shape that I can,’ said Cowdrey.

Cowdrey will be training under AIS/Paralympic High Performance Swim program head coach Graeme Carroll and will have access to the Institute’s leading sports science expertise and state-of-the-art training facilities.

The 21-year-old Matthew ‘superfish’ Cowdrey has excelled on the world stage, with multiple gold medal and world record performances at Paralympic Games, world championships and Commonwealth Games. He was also named the 2008 Australian Paralympian of the Year.