#ROWunleashed at Ontario Summer Swimming Championships 2024!
Last week at the Summer Ontario Swimming Championships, Region of Waterloo athletes went above and beyond expectations as they continue to impress through the Summer Championship Meet Season! Making huge personal strides, ROW athletes displayed they were there to fearlessly compete against the best athletes in province!
The meet as a whole was the most energetic and competitive OSCs we’ve had in the post-Covid era. Several age-group Ontario Records were broken throughout the course of the weekend, hosting many current Team Canada representatives which will be competing at the World Championships, Junior World Championships and Pan American Games later this summer and into the fall. It goes without saying, there was no shortage of talent in the pool this time around!
Given the calibre of athletes, ROW not only stepped up but thrived, exemplifying what it means to be part of #ROWNATION.
From day 1, ROW athletes stood up with energy, fighting their way through preliminary sessions to earn spots at finals, where 28 out of 31 swims secured their positions – a metric so unrealistic it’s hard to believe. Qualifying for finals was hardly the tip of the iceberg, with ROW athletes showcasing their talents and earning NEW qualification times as well as several podium finishes.
Some of these highlights included:
Tyson M – Currently swims out of the High-Performance Centre for para-athletes based in Montreal and has represented ROW since attending University at WLU. Tyson earned 4 gold medals at the competition in the men’s para category including 200free, 100free & 100back, with his 50 free also earning him a NEW Ontario Record!
New Qualifiers!
· Sophie R – New CJC Qualifier in the 200 Fly for 2024 having made the 13-year-old standard in the event, but is unable to attend as a 12-year-old.
· Katherine S – New CJC Qualifier in the 50 Free. Having only just aged up, this is quite the feat!
· Olivia G – New CJC Qualifier in the 100 & 200 Back in only her 2nd year of competitive swimming!
· Patrick L – New Junior Trials Qualifier in the 50 Free! This qualifies him to race at Canadian Olympic Trials in May of next season!
· Sunny X – New Junior Trials Qualifier in the 200 Back! This qualifies her to race at Canadian Olympic Trials in May of next season!
Medal Haul!
· Sunny X – Gold 400IM, Silver 200 Back & 800 Free, Bronze 200 Fly
· Le Anne D – Gold 200 Back, Silver 100 Back
· Katherine – Bronze 50 Free
· 14&U 4x100 Medley Relay – BRONZE – Le Anne, Katherine, Sunny, Olivia G – TEAMWORK!!!
Records!
· Tyson M – 50 Free LCM – S14 Men’s Ontario Record!
· Sunny X – 200 Back LCM – 13/14 Girls Region of Waterloo Swim Club Record!
With a relatively young group of athletes, it was incredibly special to witness the drive and maturity they had in taking accountability for their performances, particularly their attention to the preparation process. Without being prompted, the process for achieving excellence began the minute athletes arrived on deck with activation into warm-up, right up until the end of the day finishing with cool-down after every session. Athletes continually asked “what CAN I do”, as opposed to the typical “what do I HAVE to do”, displaying a desire and understanding of the role preparation and process play in the bigger picture.
“It's hard to accurately depict how special this weekend was in words. Witnessing the growth of these athletes in terms of performance, sport IQ & comradery is everything a coach dreams of for his/her athletes.” – Head Coach AJ
Region of Waterloo Swim Club had an overall team placing of 13th out of approximately 80 teams attending the meet, which is a drastic improvement from our past several outings.
As long as we continue to work hard and support each other, we can continue to rise!
#ROWNATION #ROWRISING #ROWUNLEASHED
