Para swimming

Para swimming

At the 2019 Lima Parapan American Games, Canada’s Para swimming team was young, with an average age of just over 19.2 years, and eager to gain more experience on the world stage.

All 13 members of the squad were Next Generation team members and just one had any previous international experience, says Michel Bérubé, NextGen & Pathways Coach for Swimming Canada’s Para swimming program.

Despite their youth, they certainly made their presence known.

By the end of the Games, Canadian Para swimmers had won 21 medals, accounting for about one-third of all medals Canada claimed during the eight days of competition. Sixteen-year-old Para swimmer Arianna Hunsicker from Surrey, B.C. won the most medals of all Canadians at the Games – five bronze medals (four in individual events, one in a team medley event). Parksville, B.C.’s Nicholas Bennett, age 15, wasn’t far behind, winning four medals in the pool – three gold medals and one silver.

Bérubé chalks their success in the pool up to preparation. It’s one of the things Para swimming’s Next Generation program is really focused on, he says, and it’s something they do very well.

Before leaving for Lima, all 13 team members plus staff, Integrated Support Teams (ISTs), managers and coaches traveled to Spain where they replicated what their experience at the Parapan Am Games would be like, from counting the kilometres they’d need to walk within the Athletes’ Village to mentally preparing themselves for long bus rides to and from the swimming venue.

Next Generation funding through the ImagiNation campaign to support planning and preparation at this level is key, says Bérubé.

“There’s no way we’d have had the success we had in Lima without Next Gen support.”

Bérubé says the future of Para swimming is bright. There is a lot of great talent rising through the ranks, so the support to develop that talent now is essential.

“Next Gen funding is the greatest thing that can happen for swimming,” he says. “It’s more than just swimmers winning a medal or going to a championship, it’s life skills. They’re learning skills that they’ll use for the rest of their lives. That’s the biggest bonus.”