Young swimmers set record pace in pool

Avielle Toews and Arthur Godoy are rewriting Manitoba’s record books one stroke at a time.

The Winnipeg pre-teens have combined to set 14 new 12-and-under provincial records in the pool so far this season, and both have their sights on more.

Godoy, who is quickly gaining steam as one of the top young phenoms in the country, is responsible for 12 of them.

While racing against older swimmers for the second year in a row, the 12-year-old has set new individual marks in the 50-metre freestyle (26.60), 100m freestyle (56.83), 200m freestyle (2:04.68), 50m backstroke(30.81), 100m backstroke (1:06.64), 50m butterfly (28.35), 100m butterfly (1:02.30), 100m individual medley (1:06.83) and 200m individual medley (2:22.25).

Godoy, who spent his formative years in Brasília, Brazil, says those times are the culmination of hours spent in the pool. The freestyle and butterfly disciplines have always been a strength, but he’s worked diligently on improving his backstroke and breaststroke.

Alex Shogolev, who coaches Godoy through the Alpha Swim Club, said this level of success was always within reach for the youngster this season.

“Right before the season began, we had a chat, and we structured a plan for him. We talked about these records, and we tried to set up a plan of how we were going to tackle all these records. We didn’t limit it to the distance or the stroke, per se. We set up a plan, and he’s executing it really well,” Shogolev said.

“It was awesome to break the records with them… in the end, everybody is happy.”

“I think the big difference is that he’s very goal-driven. He is disciplined, and even when he’s not feeling 100 per cent at practice, he still gives it his all.”

Godoy has also had some help etching his name in the history books. Along with Caelen Palma, Raul Hadzhyiev, and Nash Mendoza, the quartet set new benchmarks in the 200m freestyle relay (1:54.73), 400m freestyle relay (4:22.98) and 200m medley relay (2:09.40).

“Showing that we can break individual records and records together, that’s something I thought was awesome,” Godoy said. “Especially when you’re younger, it’s hard to get more than one person who can work together and break a record. Especially since they’re my friends — I know them, I train with them, so it was awesome to break the records with them… in the end, everybody is happy.”

Meanwhile, Toews broke two records — the 50-metre breaststroke (34.5 seconds) and 200m breaststroke (2:46.07) — that were previously held by Mia West, who made waves in local pools for years and is currently swimming for the University of California, Berkeley.

Toews is just in her third season of competitive swimming but has already experienced great success, sweeping the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke events at junior provincials in her first season and following that up with another strong campaign last year.

“She’s such an inspiration to me, and to break her records, it’s just crazy.”

“Mia West, she’s such an inspiration to me, and to break her records, it’s just crazy. I’ve looked up to her and her sister, Halle, since I started swimming,” said Toews, who excels in the breaststroke and freestyle disciplines.

“My coaches, they always told me I could do it, but I never really expected — especially the 50, I just went into that race, and I was like, ‘I’m just gonna swim it.’ I think I’ve improved a lot this year.”

Toews comes from an athletic background, as her mother, Tara, swam with the University of Manitoba Bisons and her dad, Nathan, was a volleyball player with the Canadian national team.

Toews also has goals of one day swimming in a university pool and possibly beyond, and she is already getting tips from former Olympian and fellow Winnipegger Kelsey Wog, who was introduced to the youngster after walking into Toews’ family’s restaurant. Wog quickly became a mentor to the young water bug.

“The friendship they have is very unique, and it’s very, very special,” Tara said. “So even just asking Kelsey about the personal side of swimming, too: how to navigate being a student-athlete and the pressures of it all. Kelsey has been such a blessing for her.”

Toews and Godoy, along with fellow up-and-comer Makar Bezzoubov, will look to maintain their momentum at the upcoming Best of the West meet, which goes at Pan Am Pool from April 23-26. The competition draws a collection of some of the top young swimmers from across the country. Shogolev estimates that qualifying times need to be among the top 25 in Canada.

“This is going to be a really high-level meet,” said Godoy. I’m super excited, I’ve been training super hard, and the thing I’m most looking forward to is racing other people that are really good, because that’s what I hope for every single day.”

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