Top swimmer Wog makes splash with Bisons
Linden Woods’ Kelsey Wog to swim with U of M Bisons
Advertisement
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/12/2015 (2654 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Local swimmer and top national recruit Kelsey Wog will continue to set records here in Winnipeg.
Wog committed to the University of Manitoba Bisons swim team on Dec. 8. The 17-year-old from Linden Woods will be competing with the team in the 2016-17 season.
According to Bisons swimming head coach Vlastimil (Vlastik) Cerny, Wog, who currently swims with the Junior Bisons, will be joining the U of M at a CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) champion level.
The Grade 12 student at Vincent Massey Collegiate is the current holder of the provincial senior records in women’s long course (50 metres) 200-metre breaststroke with a time of 2:27.59 and the 200-metre individual medley at 2:17.55. She also holds four provincial senior records in women’s short course (25 metres) 200-metre individual medley, the 50-metre breaststroke, and both the 100-metre and 200-metre breaststroke, among other accolades.
“Kelsey is very gifted and her intuition in the water as to how she moves, how she floats, how she pushed off, how she plays even in the water — she’s like a fish,” Cerny said. “She pushes off the wall and she can glide 15 metres underwater. Those are qualities that she has that are more on the gift side — that natural ability to relax in the water, because the fastest swimming in the world always looks easy and doesn’t look like anyone’s working hard. She has that natural ability.”
After signing the commitment papers, Wog was short on words but happy to be a part of the Bisons team.
“I just never imagined that I’d be coming here and I feel like I’ve been in school for so long and high school is finally coming to an end,” she said.
Wog, who is also an accomplished Highland dancer, has been swimming competitively since she was seven years old and says she continued with the sport because of her early achievements.
“I think when I was younger I just really enjoyed it, and I’ve just had so much success, I just can’t stop,” Wog said.
Craig McCormick, coach of the Junior Bisons swim team, has worked with Wog since she was 13-years-old. McCormick says Wog’s competition in Highland dancing has benefited the young swimmer through a meticulous focus on movement, body awareness, and timing.
“In dancing she has to focus on multiple things at the same time. In swimming, especially in breaststroke, it’s the same thing. And so we think it’s transitioned big time to help her swimming,” McCormick said. “We think it makes her a better swimmer. And I think that was part of her trust in our program to stay, is that we’ve supported that throughout the years and continue to.”
Even though Wog is described by her coaches as being a lot of fun in the pool and cracking jokes at every opportunity, Wog says she uses Highland dancing as a way to unwind from the pressures of racing.
“I like the Highland dance because it gives me a break from the pool and I can go there and think about dance and nothing else,” Wog said. “(Swimming) is very challenging because you’re always trying to push yourself and try and do a little bit better every day in practice.”
Wog will be studying agriculture and pursuing her interest in the sciences at the U of M and hopes to eventually compete on the senior national team.