Five swimmers from the Comox Valley Aquatic Club (a.k.a. the Sharks) travelled to Vancouver on April 13-15 to compete at the Mies Schootman Invitational Swim Meet.
This meet represented the first long-course meet of the season and as such was swum in the UBC Aquatic Centre's 50-metre basin. The swimmers were excited – especially when Olympian Brent Hayden was finishing his workout before the meet started – what a treat to watch him swim!
The Sharks fared well, each contributing to the medal haul. On the men's side Joshua Dolman managed a bronze in the 200 Individual Medley while teammate Ben Neufeld racked up gold in the 50 breaststroke, silver in the 100 backstroke, and four bronze medals: 50 butterfly, 50 back, 50 free, and the 200 backstroke.
The women did great too. Emma Neufeld contributed with a silver in the 400 IM and a bronze in the 50 back. Brooke Lamoureux faced the toughest competition and came away with a gold in the 800 free, a silver in the 400 free, and two bronze (200 free, 100 free).
The swimmer of the meet had to be Gabrielle Wolfe who was swimming for the last time in her age category, said CVAC head coach Albert Burgund. "Gabrielle swam to gold an impressive four times: in the 400 IM, 200 Butterfly, 200 Freestyle, and the 200 IM. Her 400 IM time was a new meet record. She did not finish there but continued with a silver in the 200 back stroke and a bronze in the 100 butterfly.
"The swimmers swam very well for their first Long-Course meet," reported Burgund. "We were trying to focus on solid stroke mechanics and even splitting. Something I can say the swimmers have been proving to be quite successful at," he concluded.
For complete results visit the Sharks' website at www.sharks.bc.ca.
The Sharks wish to thank all of their sponsors and supporters here in the Comox Valley without whose ongoing support these results would not have been possible.
"Just a reminder to support your local Shark when they come looking for sponsorship for our upcoming Swim-A-Thon on Saturday, May 5. Swimmers will try to swim 200 lengths as fast as they can or as much as they can in a two-hour time slot. That's 5,000 meters!" Burgund noted.
– Comox Valley Aquatic Club Sharks