Coming off of a two week long training camp and some additional tough workouts was no obstacle for Richmond Rapids swimmers.
Twelve local athletes put their hard work to good use at the Hyack Icebreaker Classic held in New Wesminister.
"It was great to see such determination in each swimmer's racing this weekend. Most of them are quite tired from the camp but showed a lot of guts racing," says Rob Pettifer, the Richmond Rapids' Head Coach.
The goal of the weekend was not personal bests for most swimmers but for the honing and sharpening of skills learned over the past month and on being mentally tougher in the pool. Swimmers used this meet as a chance to get some racing in before next month's Western Canadian Championships in Winnipeg.
Top eight finishers for the Rapids included: Kyle Bower (16) 6th 1500 freestyle; Brandon De Costa (15) gold 100 back, 5th 100 fly; Nicolaas Dekker (16) gold 200 fly, silvers 200 free/200 breaststroke, 5th 1500 free, 6th 200 backstroke; Hau-Li Fan (14) golds 400 IM/1500 free, silver 200 breaststroke; Paula Gosse (15) 5th 100 back, 7th 800 free; Celine Hong (15) silvers 400 IM/200 breast/800 free, 6th 200 back; Michael JakacSinclair (14) 5th 400 IM, 6th 400 free/200 fly/1500 free; Nathan Muszynski (17) bronze 400 IM, 5th 200 breaststroke and Tiffany Orr (16) silver 100 back, fourth 200 IM/200 free, 7th 200 back.
The next two months will be busy for the Rapids with upcoming meets in Vancouver, at the CDSC New Year's Invitational, the Winskill Dolphins LMR Meet and the Westerns.
"Almost the entire of the club will be competing over the next two months so both the swimmers and the coaching staff will have a lot on their plates gearing up for these meets," added Pettifer.
"We like to make sure that everyone who joins the program has the opportunity to compete at the level that they belong to; regardless of whether it's a learn to swim level or all the way up National or Olympic levels."
For more information on the Richmond Rapid contact 604-275-7946 or visit online at www.richmondrapids.com
