Water polo player Aidan Roach, who competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, shared his story at the Gymea Technology High School in Sydney.

One hundred students from year nine were inspired to find their passion and unleash their potential.

Olympics Unleashed in New South Wales is a AUD$1.4 million (£735,900/$948,700/€861,900) programme in partnership with the New South Wales Government, AOC and Olympic partner Optus.

Over the 200 schools visited, around 24,500 students and 33 athletes from 22 sports were involved. 

"Olympians achieve incredible feats in the sporting arena, but their ability to inspire and motivate young Australians with the story of their journey is even more powerful," said AOC chief executive Matt Carroll.

"Olympics Unleashed brings students face to face with Olympians and aspiring Olympians to engage with and learn from them first-hand, that  hard work, resilience and overcoming challenges is part of life if you want to achieve.

"Hearing directly from Olympians like Aidan is a powerful way to engage students about what you can achieve when you have a goal and work towards it."

The 29-year-old Roach is now aiming for his Tokyo 2020, his third Olympic Games. 

"Every athlete knows that finding success or following something you love is never a straight line," he said.

"It’s been so rewarding to be able to share part of my story with students and help to encourage them to chase down something they love. 

"To be able to connect with students about what they want to do, and how they can get there is pretty special.

"Every group of students offers up something different, and I love being able to chat with different schools as part of my week – it’s a good change up from training."

The programme is free for schools and aimed at year nine students in New South Wales.

The Olympics Unleashed programme also recently visited its 500th school in Queensland, targeting children in year four to six.