By Samantha Asbury

 SYDNEY - It’s been a great year for Australia’s latest swimming sensation, Matt (Matija) Jaukovic.

The 23-year-old Jaukovic, who was born in Montenegro in the former Yugoslavia, became an Australian citizen in January then burst onto the international swimming scene for his new country at the 2008 FINA Arena Swimming World Cup.

Jaukovic, a student at Sydney University, shattered the world record for the 50 metres butterfly with a blistering 22.50 seconds swim in the Sydney leg of the Cup and continued to dominate this event throughout the series. His time sliced one-tenth of a second off Brazilian Kaio Almeida’s record which had stood for three years.

“To be honest, I still haven’t processed it”, Jaukovic said more than one month later. “The race felt amazing, from standing behind the blocks and thinking ‘this could be the day’, to the buzz when I heard the crowd after the touch, knowing that I got it.

“I saw 22.50 and thought ‘wow, that was quick. It was such a great experience’!” Jaukovic continued to be unbeatable in Berlin, capturing gold medal in the 50 metres butterfly, swimming just 0.08 of a second outside his own World mark.

It was his fifth World Cup win over the distance and his eighth Series victory, with three wins in the 100 metres butterfly, since his world record-breaking swim in Sydney. More surprising is the fact he only turned to butterfly last year.

"I swam in the Serbia and Montenegro Youth teams as a backstroker and only really concentrated on butterfly recently,” he said. “I entered the 100 metres butterfly at the Australian Grand Prix meet in Brisbane last year, and swam 54.9 seconds. After that, it was all ‘fly.”

Born in the Montegrin capital of Podgorica, Jaukovic first started swimming at the age of five but, as Podgorica does not have a pool, his family moved to the small coastal town Herceg-Novi, so he could take up the sport.

“I always loved being in water when I was a kid, even as a baby, and unlike most other kids, I never had any fear,” he said. “From the beginning, I did it because I enjoyed it very much and also because swimming fits into my approach to life – it’s an individual sport in which you take full responsibility for what you do, Jaukovic said.

“Swimming has helped me to develop work ethic and has taught me a lot about limits, or lack thereof, as well as self-discipline and dedication.”

Jaukovic came to Australia for the first time in 1999 to visit his Aunt and Uncle who live in Sydney and, since then, has always had a feeling for this country. “It might sound a bit pathetic, but that’s what it felt like,” he said. “I always cheered for the Aussies when I watched swimming on TV.”

“Kieren Perkins was my idol, and I had a couple of ‘cossies’ with ‘Australia’ written on the back that I proudly wore at local meets.” he said.

After finishing high school in Montenegro, Jaukovic decided to make the move to Australia to study at Sydney University, where he is completing a double degree in Law and Economics. The NSWIS scholarship holder joined the Sydney University Swim Program, and has continued to juggle his studies with his training regime.

Jaukovic credited coach Steve Alderman for his tremendous improvement over the past two years. “He has been the one person that has helped me transform into a butterfly champion and an elite athlete,” Jaukovic said. The transformation involved a complete change from what he was used to, and Jaukovic says there was a difference in the philosophy of training.

“One big difference is the dry land stuff, especially gym, which I only started doing for the first time in my career at the beginning of last year.” Jaukovic said he also had his mother to thank for his successes in the pool. “She was always at the pool, watching the training sessions, and encouraging me and pointing out the things I could do better or improve on,” he said. “Mum was like a friend giving advice and it was always up to me to take it, if I thought it was worth it.”

Living in Australia has meant that Jaukovic doesn’t often get to see his family, who still live in Montenegro but, “even today, I regularly discuss my training sessions with my parents over the net. Both of them, as well as my brother, have played a great role in my life and my swimming career.”

While his University studies have dominated his time for the past three years, Jaukovic’s focus is now turning to his ultimate aim; to represent Australia at the Olympic Games in London 2012. “That is definitely the plan, and I’ll be working towards that goal over the next four years,” he said. “In the meantime, I wouldn’t mind competing at World Championships and the 2010 Commonwealth Games,” he grinned.

Watch the World Record swim at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66BwpFf4xnM