Six swimmers from the Williams Lake Blue Fins represented the lakecity in fine fashion during the weekend at the Swim BC Winter Provincials in Kamloops.
Blue Fins head coach Chad Webb said the weekend was a tough one for the swimmers as they had to switch gears from the 25-metre short course pool they train in here in Williams Lake to the 50-metre long course, Olympic-sized pool at the Canada Games Aquatic Centre in Kamloops.
“This is the first year the province had done this to allow the top swimmers a chance to qualify for Western Canadian Championships in Edmonton, which is in four weeks,” Webb said.
Blue Fins veterans Taylor Fitzgerald, Jadyn Johnston and Morgan Langford did just that as all three swimmers became part of an elite group that has qualified for the biggest meet hosted each year in Western Canada.
In the process, Fitzgerald and Johnston destroyed a number of club records during the weekend and managed top 16 placements in many events and a few placings in the top eight.
The Blue Fins girls’ 13-14 year old team also managed a top eight spot in the medley relay and set club records in both the medley and free relay.
“The relay team had a great battle with the province and came only five seconds from a medal,” Webb said.
Blue Fins relay swimmers were Langford, Fitzgerald, Gabrielle Knox and Cristelle Panida.
Fitzgerald, in her individual races, managed an impressive fifth-place finish in the 100-metre backstroke and a sixth-place finish in the 200-metre backstroke against some very tough competition, Webb noted.
Johnston was seventh in the 200-metre fly and eighth in the 100-metre fly against swimmers who are more than a year older than him.
Blue Fins Club
Records
Taylor Fitzgerald
• 200- and 400-metre individual medley
• 100-metre free
• 100- and 200-metre backstroke
• 100-metre fly
Jadyn Johnston
• 100- and 200-metre fly
• 400-metre freestyle
• 200-metre backstroke
• 200- and 400-metre individual medley
Club
• 200-metre free relay and 200-metre medley relay
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