The Melbourne swimmer dabbles in a little bit of everything when he jumps in the pool and what better place to test yourself than the Masters Games?
"I’m probably better for the longer distance," Denison said.
"But with these sort of meets, because it’s all about fun, the joy of participating, I tend to try and do as much as I can without burning myself out."
Denison has entered 10 events at Moana Pool this week, across various distances and strokes.
It will be a test to see where he is at after tearing the tendons in his forearms — "which kind of hurts when you’re doing a lot of pulling for swimming" — in March last year.
"I’m only just starting to get back into it, so this is a bit of a let’s see how we go."
The 48-year-old is diving into his third Masters Games this week — and second trip to Dunedin after competing in Whanganui last year — after a friend "conned" Denison in to competing in 2024.
"I think he needed a guinea pig. He wanted to do it himself and then he pulled out.
"It was like, ‘Oh, well, I'll commit to it."’
Denison loved the Masters Games, getting to cross the Ditch for a couple of days of swimming and connecting with like-minded people in the pool.
"It's just the friendship and, you know, it's got a really positive vibe and really good atmosphere.
"The other reason I felt coming back to this event would be important was Michael Tunnicliffe — "a local legendary swimmer who regrettably passed away at this event two years ago, so I kind of feel for his memory and, you know, all of the things I spoke about, fun, friendship, the joy of participating.
"It was important to come back to the event this year."
Growing up, Denison was a swimmer but initially gave it away for running and spent the past 25 years pounding the pavement.
He returned to the sport at the Westbourne Swim Club and swam alongside his children Ethan, 12, and Holly, 11.
"I stopped the running to take up swimming... to be with them first and foremost.
"But, also, to incentivise them to, maybe, just to go that little bit hard.
"He’s 12 and leaves me for dead," he said of Ethan.
Swimming had also been great tool to work through mental health challenges in the past, meeting new people and supporting each other in and out of the pool.
