Enlarge Image

Synchronized swimmer Megan Rutherford spends 20 hours a week training in and out of the pool. (AVI SAPER)

Things are coming full circle for Megan Rutherford.

Three years ago, at the 2007 Canada Winter Games, the talented synchronized swimmer from the Maples was the youngest athlete in the competition at 13.

Now, as the months begin to tick away and the 2011 Games draw near, Rutherford is the top junior swimmer in the province and looking forward to being one of the veterans on Team Manitoba.

A Grade 10 student in the International Baccalaureate program at Kelvin High School, Rutherford recently took first place in both the figures and solo Tier 7 junior competitions at the Festival de Synchro.

She has won the provincial championship in solo and figures in each of the last two seasons, and, now in her ninth year of synchronized swimming, is starting to post some impressive results in national and western competitions.

It all started for Rutherford when a babysitter brought her to a synchronized swimming competition and she immediately fell in love with the sport.

"I’ve been swimming as long as I can remember," she said. "I swim at the lake all the time."

A recreational pursuit turned into a major commitment in 2006, when Rutherford went to an inter-provincial competition in the Yukon and finished second in figures.

"I hunkered down and thought, ‘This is getting serious now,’ " she said.

Since then, Rutherford has put in 20 hours of training a week to hone her skills.

Rutherford’s coach with Winnipeg Synchro, Jennifer Land, said her dedication to improving is what has led to her success.

"She’s very hard working and goal-oriented," Land said. "She sets a goal and commits herself to it."

Land and Rutherford both have a hard time comparing the physical demands of synchronized swimming to any other sport.

The cardiovascular and muscular endurance required to complete a four-minute program is similar to that of a figure skater, as is the tremendous flexibility needed to perform many of the skills. But the comparisons end when you add in the factor of breath control.

"You have to train to hold your breath in solo for, say, 20 seconds, then come up for 10 or 15 seconds, then back under for 15, and so on with no rest," Land said.

As Rutherford puts it, "At the end, your breathing is painful and your muscles are burning. The longer you can last, the better you’ll do."
One of the allures of synchronized swimming is that it is a rare sport that offers both individual and team competition.

"I like the solo side because of the artistic elements and the musicality," Rutherford said, "but then the team stuff is great because we’re all close with each other and good friends."

Along with her preparations for the 2011 Canada Winter Games, Rutherford is beginning to turn her attention towards trying to make the national junior team.

If she does, she’ll be only the third Manitoban to swim for the national team at any level. Land, who was the first to do so as a member of the national B team, said just making the team trials would be a major accomplishment.

"It’s pretty rare for our province," she said. "The east is very strong, and tends to dominate."

avi.saper@canstarnews.com