The 22-year-old was dropped from the Australian swimming team and spent more than a year in exile after he was found guilty of assaulting teammate Simon Cowley on March 31, 2008.

In August this year the national ban was lifted, allowing D'Arcy to once again channel his energy into winning gold for his country.

Last night D'Arcy signalled his intentions by easing to victory in the 200m butterfly at the AIS International meet, touching the wall four seconds faster than his nearest rival.

The win follows a successful World Cup Tour over the past month, where he managed fourth in Stockholm, third in Berlin and second in Singapore.

D'Arcy plans to take a week off after the AIS meet before resuming his Commonwealth Games preparation.

He said next year's Delhi games would give him the chance to put a troubled 18 months behind him.

''I think it's important for me to repay the efforts of my family and my coach, and my personal trainer and the people that have stuck by me,'' D'Arcy said.

''Without my parents or the help of my coach, Alan Thompson's support, I don't think I'd still be swimming. It's a combination of having a really good network and the support of friends and family.''

Next year's Commonwealth Games also provides D'Arcy with his best opportunity to win gold in the near future, with Olympic champion Michael Phelps out of the equation.

D'Arcy finished ahead of a lacklustre Phelps recently in Berlin, but said there was still a long way to go to bridge the gap to the American.

''He does have a fair bit of a presence obviously being the greatest athlete in the world but I think you've just got to focus on your own race,'' D'Arcy said.

''I think that's something that I've been able to develop as an older athlete.''

Following D'Arcy's big win last night, Ashley Callus jumped into the pool to break the Australian 50m freestyle record, flying through the lap in 21.19sec.