The 25-year-old was a member of the four-man Australian side that claimed a bronze medal in the teams event, finishing behind heavyweights China and Russia.

It was Australia's first world title medal in 29 years.

On the previous occasion, Swadling's national coach, Brett Austine, helped collect silver in the same event.

Swadling also finished 16th in the individual event, while his girlfriend, Christine Hall, came 13th in the mini-double tramp. Both were the highest-placed Australians.

Swadling was a leading candidate to wear the green and gold at the 2012 London Olympics before a series of misfortunes ended his plans.

First he finished 34th at the 2011 world titles, well short of the top-eight finish that would have earned him automatic qualification for London. He had one more chance to qualify, at the 2012 national titles, only to injure his ankle in the warm-up.

The Cardiff High School physical education teacher said his results in Bulgaria had reaffirmed his belief that selection for Rio de Janeiro in 2016 was a realistic goal.

"You have to be in the top 16 nations to get through to the Olympics, and I was in the top 16 athletes," he said.

"There were two Chinese, two Japanese, two Russians, two from America, all in the top 16, so I would well and truly be in the top 16 . . . I definitely feel again like it [Rio] is do-able.

"Now I feel strong again and we've worked out a better training recipe, so I'm just looking forward to having another go."