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Move refreshes WA swim ace

Like most elite athletes, Perth Olympic swimmer Tommaso D'Orsogna looks for balance and structure in his life.

But that's not been easy over the past couple of months.

Firstly, he changed coach and moved to Brisbane in August.

And this month, his beloved grandfather - smallgoods patriarch Tommaso D'Orsogna - died, aged 95.

On the day of his funeral, D'Orsogna tweeted: "Today we celebrate the life of my grandfather, my Nonno, Tommaso.

"My inspiration and my namesake, he led an amazing life and worked hard every day to achieve his dreams.

"After 95 years he has more than earned his eternal rest."

Back in Perth for this week's State swimming titles and next weekend's BHP Billiton Aquatic Super Series, D'Orsogna still has his eyes firmly fixed on this year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

"The move to Queensland has been refreshing - it was the change I needed," D'Orsogna said this week.

"I can concentrate on my swimming in a really positive environment.

"My new coach Simon Cusack has had some great recent results with Cate and Bronte Campbell and Christian Sprenger.

"I'm just hoping to do something similar."

And the move seems to be paying off.

D'Orsogna, 23, finished second in the 100m freestyle final at the State championships last night, behind only world champion James Magnussen.

And he won the 50m butterfly event.

Everything D'Orsogna does is designed to make him the best possible swimmer he can be.

To help understand the life of a top swimmer, D'Orsogna took _The Weekend West _through a typical week day in his lead-up to a major swim meet.

_7am _Woken by alarm. During competition - or in the lead-up to competitions - it is important to sleep as long as possible. At other times of the year, D'Orsogna might get up as early as 5.45am for a more intensive early-morning swimming session.

_7.05am _A quick breakfast snack, perhaps a bowl of his favourite TropicO's cereal (gluten-free because D'Orsogna has coeliac disease).

_7.20am _Drive to the pool.

_7.30am _A light workout, perhaps about 2km of laps in a 50m pool and various other exercises and drills.

_8.30am _Shower and drive home.

_9am _A second breakfast, perhaps two eggs and some toast. Since moving to Brisbane, D'Orsogna lives by himself and does all his own cooking.

_10am _Most of the morning is spent relaxing. It could also be a good time to catch up on study. D'Orsogna is studying medical science part-time at the University of Queensland. Once his swimming career is over, he plans to spend more time on his study and to begin a medical degree.

_11am _Off to the massage therapist for a light soft-tissue rub. With competition around the corner, it is important that this massage is not too long or too deep.

_12.30pm _Lunch. Important that the food is a good mix of protein and carbohydrate, perhaps a honey chicken stir-fry with rice.

_1.30pm _More relaxation, perhaps in front of television. D'Orsogna loves cartoons, his favourite being Spongebob Squarepants. He also enjoys the series Supernatural and a good movie comedy. While relaxing, he will probably be wearing his "recovery skins" which are designed to get more oxygen to his muscles and reduce lactic-acid build-up.

_3pm _A light stretching session, usually with his massage ball. This would focus on any part of his body that might feel a bit tight.

_4pm _Drive to the pool for another workout. Again, the workout is only light and similar to his warm-up on competition day.

_5pm _ Shower and drive home.

_6pm _Dinner is once again a mix of protein and carbohydrates, perhaps lasagne ("my mum makes the best gluten-free lasagne in the world").

_7pm _ More relaxation.

_9pm _Off to bed. D'Orsogna usually reads a book for about 20 minutes before falling asleep.