Young swimmers inspired by Oly exploits

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This article was published 11/08/2016 (3449 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

STEINBACH — The splash Canada’s women are making in the pool in Rio de Janeiro is drenching many of the girls competing at the Manitoba Summer Games this week with inspiration.

Winnipeg’s Chantal Van Landeghem, an Olympic bronze medalist following a strong showing in the women’s 4×100-metre freestyle earlier this week, and 16-year-old prodigy Penny Olesiak, who has three medals and counting for the country, were all the rage at the Steinbach Aquatic Centre Thursday as the girls swimming preliminaries got underway.

Among the bunch is one of Manitoba’s up-and-comers, Jillian Friesen from Arborg. The 14-year-old took down the girls 200-metre freestyle crown at July’s Man/Sask Open Championships, and the smile on her face at the mention of Van Landeghem’s name was unmistakable.

“Seeing the power she has and seeing her race, it’s amazing,” said Friesen, who earned Color gold medals in the 100-metre backstroke, 50-metre freestyle and 100-metre individual medley Thursday.

Friesen is on a path to success as well. At 14, she’s on the target squad for the 2017 Canada Summer Games, a Swim Manitoba program aimed at preparing the province’s best swimmers to compete next summer.

Watching what Van Landeghem and Oleksiak have done in the pool, Friesen said, is giving her hope.

“It means that I don’t have limits because they didn’t have them,” she said. “Other people have done it, people from Manitoba have done it. It means that I can do it, too.”

Canada’s success on the podium isn’t lost on the coaches, either. Nancy Rowsell coaches Friesen at the Selkirk Dolphins swim club and said she’s been able to use Canada’s triumphs as a motivational tool.

“Those girls started here at one point. This is their stepping stone to getting out to those types of events,” Rowsell said. “It’s great for us to see what hard work does when you put in the effort.”

Rowsell said she and her team huddled around a TV in the athletes’ village Wednesday night to watch Oleksiak and Co. in the pool.

“Everyone was silent and paying attention, they were really taking it all in, absorbing it and being in the moment,” Rowsell said.

Winnipeg’s Kylie Tait, 14, has seen the hardships Van Landeghem had to endure during her career, including missing out on the 2012 Olympics in London by .01 of a second. For her, watching Van Landeghem’s resurgence after disappointment four years ago has been vital.

“Even if I have a bad day, I know I can still go back out and do it and be great like her,” Tait said. “The Olympics is also our goal, it’s every young girl swimmer’s goal.”

Parents are paying attention as well.

Dallas Ginter from The Pas, whose daughter Ireland Grindey is competing in this week’s Games, said it’s important for young girls to have the role models they now have in the pool.

“When you have such young swimmers showing great success, it makes it more realistic for them,” she said. “It’s something they can relate to. They’re their peers.”

Ginter said the Olympic success also goes a long way to keeping young swimmers interested in the sport.

“It can be hard to do that sometimes. There’s a lot of early mornings getting in the pool when it’s cold out,” she said.

Team spirit and strong coaching in northern Manitoba is keeping girls interest piqued when it might be easier for it to wane. The facilities aren’t what you’d find in Winnipeg, but coach Nick Popiel said they make it work.

“It’s tough,” he said. “There’s just the three regions up here — The Pas, Flin Flon and Thompson — and we have just one 25-metre pool. We struggle to keep the pool there and we do a lot of travelling. But on the other hand, these girls spend a lot of time training.

“Something like the Manitoba Games, it’s just such a great experience for them. They’re hyped up for it and they get the idea of what it’s like to compete at a multi-sport event.”

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @scottbilleck