The short course season has come to an end for the Kootenay Swim Club and several swimmers have returned home with medals around their necks.
Gabrielle Hanvold was unstoppable at AAs swim meet held at the end of February with six best times, dropping four seconds off in 200m fly and t31 seconds off her best time in 400m IM. Gabrielle 's hard work did not go unrecognized as she received three gold medals for 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly and 400m IM. Her hard work paid off and she qualified for AAAs.
Jordan Andrusak did not disappoint at AAAs in Surrey at the beginning of March. Waves were made when Jordan swam three Age Group Championship times in 200m and 400m freestyle and 200m IM and received two bronze medals for her freestyle. This is a big achievement for Jordan because she is one of the youngest swimmers to achieve this goal. Most swimmers who receive Age Group Championship times are 13 and older. Also, this opens up a great opportunity for Jordan to compete against swimmers from across Canada at the Age Group Championships being held in Calgary during July. She will be swimming against some of the country's best.
Niallan Collier will be joining Jordan after he swam three best times at AAAs and qualified for Age Group Championships in 200m IM. All of Niallan's hard work is paying off. He is starting the long course season off on the right foot and is in prime condition.
The team also did extremely well at a meet in Kelowna in January.
The Kootenay Swim Club is now training for the long course season. The swim meets will be held in 50m pools throughout B.C. and coaches Dustin Boychek and Tom Carew will be adjusting the swimmers' training methods to prepare for the longer distances. Both coaches are looking forward to the next four months of training and the swimmers are strong and very focused. This is going to be an exciting long course season!