Holy Oly, she’s off to Rio

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This article was published 09/04/2016 (3824 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Chantal Van Landeghem is heading to Rio.

The 22-year-old Winnipegger swam a 53.91 in the 100-metre freestyle at the Canadian Olympic trials in Toronto Saturday night to earn her first Olympic berth, finishing second in the group finals behind 15-year-old Penny Oleksiak.

“It’s a dream come true,” said an emotional Van Landeghem in a telephone interview with the Free Press moments after the race. “It’s been a work in progress ever since I can remember. It might be the happiest day of my life right now.”

With emotions already running high, she burst into tears of joy after spotting her father, Wayne, in the stands. Unable to get any words out, she took a moment to gather herself before explaining the sudden rush of feelings.

“My dad surprised me,” she said, explaining she fully expected him to be at home with her mother, Dinah, watching the race on TV. “They both have supported me so much over the years and it means the world to have him here tonight.”

Van Landeghem opened the day with a time of 54.44 in the preliminary round, strong enough to move into the finals but still .01 seconds off the Olympic qualifying mark. Unfazed by the time and confident in her chance of a good follow-up race, she approached her final swim of the day the only way she knew how.

“I raced my own race and it was a good time for me,” she said. “I just had to hope that that was enough and tonight it was, so I’m thankful for that.”

It will be the first time Van Landeghem will don the Maple Leaf at an Olympic Games. She missed out on London in 2012 after falling just .01 seconds short of the qualifying time in the 50-metre free. It was a learning experience and one she grew stronger from.

“I’m a completely different person than I was four years ago,” she said, “so I knew that if I wanted to have a spot tonight I needed to come in confident and not be thinking about that moment four years ago.”

This season, Van Landeghem decided to redshirt at the University of Georgia and move to Toronto and concentrate on swimming full-time. She earned gold at the Pan Am Games in July with a race that put her in the history books by setting both a Pan Am and Canadian record. She then finished fifth in the 50-metre free at the FINA World Championships a month later.

Saturday, her drive and dedication paid off in spades. She earned not only a lane in Rio for the 100-metre women’s free, but a spot on the four-person relay team. After all the work, she can finally call herself an Olympian.

“Oh, wow,” she said after hearing the title reserved for the rare few. “It’s just a dream.”

‘It’s a dream come true. It’s been a work in progress ever since I can remember. It might be the happiest day of my life right now’– Winnipegger Chantal Van Landeghem

And that dream can still grow.

Van Landeghem will return to the pool today in hopes of qualifying for the 50-metre freestyle. Her chances look favourable, as she’s the top-ranked Canadian for that distance in the 2016 season.

The preliminary races begin at 9 a.m., while the finals are scheduled for 5 p.m.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @jeffkhamilton