"And maybe if I can get fast enough go to the Olympics."
Although Gaualofa's aspirations are high, he knows there is much hard which work lies ahead if he is to achieve his dreams. But, that doesn't faze him.
Recently Gaualofa was reclassified as an S9 swimmer which has helped bump him up the rankings. Disability sport abides by a classification system where athletes are graded depending on what function or limbs an athlete has or does not have.
In swimming, classification goes from S1-S14 with S1 being the severest disability. In Gaualofa's case, this means he is on the high end of the scale in physical terms but will compete against athletes of the same level or function.
Gaualofa's mum Dallas said it has been exciting to see her son transform into a focused young man.
"Watching him develop as a person and strive and push himself is exciting," she said.
"When watching him get up in the morning at 4.30, if he misses his alarm and I go and check I'll ask 'do you want to sleep in or go training' and he'll say 'no, no I'll go training'." Gaualofa admits the early morning wake-ups have changed him for the better, and probably will stay with him for the rest of his life.
"I didn't used to be a morning person, I used to be a kid that wakes up at 11 or 12 in the weekends, but now I struggle to sleep past 9. You feel lazy if you sleep past 9."
Dallas said the support from the Bay of Islands community had been positive, even none of which has been monetary.
"There's a core group of people who have been congratulating [post-New Zealand Opens] and following [Gaualofa]," said his mother.
"There's been a lot of newspaper stuff lately where a lot of people have been saying 'good on you' to Daniel.
"The sponsorship side is the next thing, and how do we go about that? It is hard in our community."
