Pearse, from Bamawm, struck early in the first of his three events at the 2022 World Paraswimming Championships in Madeira, claiming a silver medal in the men’s 200m S10 individual medley.
Pearse qualified third fastest in his heat on these second day of the championships (June 13) before setting a new personal best in the discipline, swimming 2.13.76 to hit the wall in second.
The 18-year-old’s time in the final was a full four seconds quicker than his time of 2.17.91 in the heats, a remarkable performance in a thrilling finish.
He followed that up with another silver medal in the 100m butterly event, both behind his main rival in the S10 class - Italy’s Stefano Raimondi.
Pearse finished just one second behind Paralympic gold medallist Raimondi in the individual medley, and just .12 of a second ahead of the Netherlands Bas Takken in a strong finish for the young Australian Dolphin.
A silver medal reflected his improvement in the 200m individual medley following a close fourth-place finish in the discipline at Tokyo.
The result, Pearse’s best finish at international level, adds another medal to an ever-growing cabinet.
On the international stage, Pearse now has a bronze in the 100m butterfly from the 2019 World Championships, a bronze in the same event at the Tokyo Paralympics, and now a silver medal at the world titles.
Pearse’s silver was among 15 for Australia to go with seven golds and nine bronze as the Green and Gold finish seventh on the medal tally on completing of the week long competition.
Italy topped the rankings with 27 gold medals, the USA next best with 24 gold and Brazil third.
But for the rising Australian swimming talent, his best may still be yet to come in Madeira.
Pearse finished fifth in the final of the men’s 100m backstroke on Saturday, which concluded his time at the World Championships.
He will now turn his attention to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. There are 14 paraswimming medal events at the games (which begin on July 29), including Pearse’s pet 100m butterfly event.