Eleven swimmers from the Shuswap Swimming Team competed at the Swim BC AAA Provincial Short Course Championships from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3, where they scored well ahead of all other clubs in the region with the exception of Kamloops.
Lauren Hemburrow, 13, started the competition off with a bang. She swam the 50-metre butterfly time trial in 30.28 seconds, qualifying her for the Western Canadian Championships (a senior national meet where Olympic team members will race head to head with youngsters from Salmon Arm). Not a lot of 13-year-olds qualify for Westerns.She will join teammates Paige Coutlee, 15, and Bree Cooper, 16, when they travel with coach Jana Montgomery to the competition in New Westminster Feb. 13-16. Lauren came to Salmon Arm from Ontario last summer, along with her coaches, in order to continue her training under their guidance. She has left behind family and friends at a young age in order to focus on her long-term goal of one day making the Olympic team.
“Living with my coaches means it’s all about swimming, 24/7,” says Lauren. “I’m so lucky that my parents supported this move and this great thing I’m trying to accomplish with my life.”
The highest scoring swimmer of the meet was superstar Stephen Moore, 11. Stephen won the 50-breast time trial with a time of :37.40. He went on to win three gold, two silver and one bronze medal.
Jacob Rambo, 11, was another champion racer. He started the weekend off by winning the 50-fly time trial with a time of :34.69. Jacob won a gold medal in 200 fly, finishing at 2:42.74. He also won four silver medals.
Maggie Manning, 13, Shuswap Swimming’s PARA-swimming genius won four medals in her category. She took silver in 100-back, and a bronze in 50, 100 and 200 free. A determined young athlete, Maggie has her mind set on making the Canadian Paralympic Swimming Team for the 2016 Olympic & Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Bree Cooper, 16, won three bronze medals for her races in 50 fly, 100 free and 50 free. She now swims two lengths of the pool in 26.87 seconds!
Chantel Jeffrey, 12, brought home many points in the meet. On the younger half of the 12-13 age group, she found herself up against some big, strong, fast older girls, but Chantel didn’t back down. She managed a 4th place finish in 200 fly (1st among 12 year olds) with an incredible time of 2:34.88.
Lauren Gridley-Haack, 10, Paige Coutlee, 15, Thomas Flahr, 15, Bryce Molder, 15, and Josh Rota, 17, rounded out the Shuswap swimmers contributing to the team’s success at provincials.
