The journey to being a highly successful athlete is, in no uncertain terms, an arduous one. There are setbacks, there are positive experiences, there are technical breakdowns, total failures, minor successes, crushing losses, and then progress.
This is the path that three Richmond Rapids swimmers find themselves on.
Magnus Batara, a 21-year-old paraswimmer, has recently found himself on the successful side. In this spring's US Paralympic Can-Ams, Batara set a meet record in the 100-meter breaststroke, and won gold medals in both the 50 and 200-meter disciplines. In the latter two events, he also set IPC world and Pan-Am records for his class.
His mother Dayan notes that even though Batara had difficulty in the Paralympic selection events, he has still been recognized as an important fixture in B.C. paraswimming.
Batara will represent the province as a member of the B.C. Special Olympics team for this summer's Canada Summer Games. Batara is currently training regularly weekday mornings to prepare for the competition.
Brandon de Costa and Nicolaas Dekker were both present at this year's World Championship Trials- the meet that determines Canada's national team. This was Dekker's second senior national meet, and de Costa's first.
De Costa was previously only qualified in the 50-meter backstroke, and therefore unable to attend Summer Nationals, since it was not an Olympic event. The 100-meter cut eluded him for months longer.
"For me, I just had to not focus on making the cut, but more on the fact that it was just another race," says de Costa.
He let the previous year's disappointment of missing the standard fuel his training. "I didn't want to experience that again," he says.
That moment came at Western Canadian Nationals in February, where de Costa not only made the qualification standard in the 100, but won the event. He also set the mark in the 50, posting the fastest time of the entire meet. His performances were enough to place him on the National Short Course ID list,.
World Trials was an eye opener for de Costa.
"Since it was my first senior meet, it definitely humbled me a lot. I learned a lot watching finals," says de Costa.
He hopes that hard work will be his ticket there. Dekker had a slightly different approach. The previous year, he had won multiple medals at Westerns, including a double gold in the 100 and 200-meter butterfly. This year, however, he was recovering from illness and had to miss Westerns entirely. World Trials was about experience.
"Going to Trials after my appendectomy and other sicknesses was important for me because I needed that gentle reminder of what I was really up against," says Dekker.
Seeing where he wanted to be, compared to where he was, lit a fire.
"I saw people my age competing in finals. Seeing their performances has really motivated me to train even harder than I was before," he added.
The end results were promising, with club records in the 100 fly, and personal bests in multiple events for both Dekker and de Costa. Dekker's performance placed him on the quadrennial B.C.
Canada Games team, the top provincial-level team for a junior swimmer.
Dekker sees this this as an important chance. "It is going to give me the opportunity to compete against the fastest people in Canada," he says. "It will be a very challenging competition for me, and I am super excited for it."
Rapids head coach Robert Pettifer is ready to push the boys to the top of their game. Regular two-a-days, including intense gym sessions and well over 30 kilometers a week in the pool, is just where it begins.
"We've got some work to do," says Pettifer, "but things are going in the right direction. I think all three of these young men have a better understanding of what it takes to compete at the senior level, and that can be huge leverage to success."
The Richmond Rapids is an age group swim club with development programs for athletes ages five to ten.
Registration for new members will begin in late August for the 2013-14 season.
For more details, visit richmondrapids.com, or email [email protected]
