Winnipeg’s Van Landeghem atones for 2012 disappointment with Rio bronze

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This article was published 07/08/2016 (3667 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Four years ago, Chantal Van Landeghem was left sobbing in a Montreal pool, with one-hundredth of a second separating her from the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Saturday night, those tears were replaced with a smile.

Van Landeghem’s joy was clear as a bronze medal was placed around her neck at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro following Team Canada’s third-place showing in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay.

“It was such a cool moment, and even more amazing that I was able to share it with my teammates (Sandrine Mainville, 24, Taylor Ruck, 16, and Penny Oleksiak, 16), Van Landeghem said after the Canadian record-breaking race. “It was everything that we worked so hard toward. It’s something I will remember for the rest of my life.”

It’s been one hell of a ride for Van Landeghem, who has endured all the ebbs and flows that crop up in an elite athlete’s career, and then some. She could have sank in the days that followed her 2012 heartbreak — maybe moved on from the sport that had been her focal point for the past six years.

Instead, her disappointment that year at the Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials morphed into a motivational tool for the woman who first started competing for Canada at the age of 12, guided by head coach Tom Hainey at the Manta Swim Club in Winnipeg.

“We saw super highs and the massive low of just missing the Olympics, and we knew full well how talented a swimmer she was,” Hainey said. “She just got better and better. (Saturday night) was hard to describe. To see a girl sobbing four years ago, to the smile she had — it’s indescribable.”

Four years of hard work paid off this spring, when at those very same trials the Vincent Massey Collegiate graduate turned in a time of 53.9 seconds in the 100-metre freestyle, qualifying her, finally, for the Olympic Games.

Those years in between heartache and happiness included two NCAA national titles at the University of Georgia, and two gold medals at the 2015 Pan Am Games, one in the 100-metre freestyle and the second in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay, setting Canadian records in both races. Most importantly, she said she grew as a person and as an elite swimmer.

“I was able to learn from those trials in Montreal,” she said. 

Hainey was still buzzing late into the evening Saturday. He’s been through a lot with Van Landeghem, including the heartbreak in Montreal. From his home in Winnipeg Saturday night, Hainey revelled in his pupil’s accomplishment

“My whole family was cheering,” he said.

Asked if his celebration was similar to that of former Canadian Olympic gold medallist Mark Tewksbury, a CBC TV analyst, whose jubilant reaction was caught on video that made the rounds on Twitter following Saturday’s race, Hainey said, “Pretty much. I looked just like Mark.”

“Tom… he ultimately helped shape me into the athlete that I am today,” Van Landeghem said. “He means everything. I will always be thankful to have him as a coach.”

Van Landeghem’s parents, Wayne and Dinah Van Landeghem, were in Rio, watching their daughter cross the finish line with tears of joy in their eyes.

“That was the most amazing atmosphere… this whole day seems surreal to me. It’s amazing to see them do that,” Wayne said in an interview with the CBC after Chantal’s race.

“After missing London by one one-hundredth of a second, it’s got to mean more,” Dinah added.

“They’ve been through it all with me,” Chantal said Sunday afternoon. “They’ve been my biggest supporters of me throughout my whole swimming career. When I was on the podium and I saw the Canadian flag being raised and both of them crying in the stands, I’ll never forget that.”

Chantal will have a chance to add to her medal haul later this week when she competes in the 100-metre freestyle event Wednesday and 50-metre freestyle event Friday. 

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @scottbilleck