Swim Ontario

Chad Bobrosky of Calgary and Chelsey Salli of Langley, B.C., put a golden finish on an impressive Canadian performance in swimming on Sunday at the Australian Olympic Youth Festival.

The Canadians collected five more medals to end the competition with 23 (seven gold, nine silver and seven bronze).

Bobrosky posted his second victory and fifth medal of the competition winning the men’s 1,500-metre freestyle in 15 minutes and 50.04 seconds. That bettered his personal best by 23 seconds. Yunqi Li of China was second in 15:53.60 and Sam Sheppard of Australia third in 15:57.21.

‘’I swam a really smart race,’’ said Bobrosky, 16, who grabbed the lead at the 950-metre mark. ‘’It was controlled and I was really happy with it. I didn’t worry about the others and swam my own race.’’

In the women’s 200 breaststroke, Salli sailed to victory in 2:30.24. Saya Kuroiwa of Japan was second in 2:31.45 and her compatriot Miyu Otsuka third in 2:31.97. Bronwyn Pasloski of Whitehorse was fourth in 2:32.40.

‘’I was happy to win but I was hoping for a faster time,’’ said Salli. ‘’I tried to go out and keep focused on my stroke.’’

Chantal Van Landeghem of Winnipeg notched a silver in the 50 freestyle and also anchored Canada to second place in the 4X100 medley relay with Tess Simpson of CSL, Marie-Soleil Jean-Lachapelle of Montreal and Brenna MacLean, Vancouver.

Van Landeghem, the youngest member on the Canadian squad at 14, ends the meet with one gold and three silver medals.

David Dimitrov of Calgary added a bronze in the men’s 200 individual medley with Braeden Newton of St. Alta., eighth.

Newton was also seventh in the 200 breaststroke. On the women’s side, Simpson was fourth in the 50 freestyle, Beatrice Pineau of Boischatel, Que., and Bobbie Mielnichuk of Edmonton were fourth and fifth respectively in the 800 freestyle and Hilary Bell of TSC and Dominique Bouchard of NBYT, sixth and eighth in the 200 IM.

Here is a recap of Canada’s swimming medallist this week in Australia.

Gold (7): Tess Simpson, Ingleside, Ont., women’s 50 freestyle; Graham Hawes, Toronto, men’s 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke; Chad Bobrosky, Calgary, men’s 400 freestyle and 1,500 freestyle; Chantal Van Landeghem, Winnipeg, women’s 100 butterfly; Chelsey Salli, Langley, B.C., women’s 200 breaststroke.

Silver (9): Van Landeghem, 50 freestyle; Bobrosky, 200 freestyle; men’s 4X200 freestyle relay (Bobrosky; James Kendrick, Calgary; David Dimitrov, Calgary; Karl Wolk, Calgary); Marie-Soleil Jean-Lachapelle, Montreal, women’s 100 breaststroke; women’s 4X200 freestyle relay (Hilary Bell, Toronto; Bobbie Mielnichuk, Edmonton; Bronwyn Pasloski, Whitehorse; Beatrice Pineau, Boischatel, Que.); women’s 4X100 freestyle relay (Van Landeghem; Bell; Mielnichuk; Simpson); Dominique Bouchard, North Bay, Ont., women’s 200 backstroke; Van Landeghem, 50 freestyle; women’s 4X100 medley relay (Simpson, Jean-Lachapelle; Brenna MacLean, Vancouver; Van Landeghem).

Bronze (7): Bell, 200 freestyle; Dimitrov 400 IM and 400 freestyle; Salli, 100 breaststroke; Braeden Newton, St. Albert, Alta., men’s 200 backstroke; men’s 4X100 freestyle relay (Dimitrov, Bobrosky, Wolk, Kendrick); Dimitrov, 200 IM.

‘’This was the strongest team we’ve ever had for this competition since it started (in 2001),’’ said Canadian head coach Ken McKinnon. ‘’Our team showed a lot of dedication to the task. It was an Olympic-style experience and they are going to greatly benefit from this.’’

Triple gold performance for Canadian swimmers at Australian Olympic Youth Festival

Graham Hawes of SCAR, Chad Bobrosky of Calgary and Chantal Van Landeghem of Winnipeg all won gold medals Saturday to highlight an eight-medal performance for Canadian swimmers at the Australian Olympic Youth Festival.

Canada’s medal count in swimming after three days of competition now stands at 18 with five gold, seven silver and six bronze.

Hawes earned his second victory this week winning the men’s 200 backstroke in a personal best two minutes and 03.41 seconds. Benjamin Edmonds of Australia was second in 2:04.90 and Braeden Newton of St. Albert, Alta., took the bronze in 2:04.91.

‘’I was confident I could win the gold but the margin of victory surprised me,’’ said Hawes, 17. ‘’But it was the start that really helped me. I was a full body length ahead of everybody once we emerged above the water. I couldn’t believe it when I watched a replay of the race on video.’’

Canada also had a double medal performance in the men’s 400 freestyle. Bobrosky notched the win in 3:57.71 with Dylan Wyatt of Australia second in 3:58.60 and David Dimitrov of Calgary third in 4:00.63. Bobrosky went under the four-minute barrier for the first time bettering his personal best by six seconds. Dimitrov beat his personal best by four seconds.

‘’I was really happy with that swim, it was a race I was looking forward to,’’ said Bobrosky, also a silver medallist in the 400 individual medley on Thursday. ‘’I swam with a smooth stroke and I was in control the whole way.’’

Dimitrov and Bobrosky then helped Canada to bronze in the 4X100 freestyle relay with fellow Calgarians Karl Wolk and James Kendrick. Australian foursomes finished 1-2.

The big story on the women’s side for Canada was a victory for 14-year-old Chantal Van Landeghem of Winnipeg in the 100 butterfly in 1:00.92. The time was also a national youth record in the 13-14 age group. Eri Oishi of Japan was second in 1:01.13, Megan MacKay of Australia third in 1:01.28 and Brenna MacLean of Vancouver fourth in 1:01.31.

‘’My goal was to earn a medal in this event and to win gold makes it all that much better,’’ said Van Landeghem, the youngest member on the Canadian team. ‘’I had a great start and turn and that’s what made the difference in the end.’’

Van Landeghem made her third trip to the podium this week collecting a silver in the women’s 4X100 freestyle relay with Hilary Bell of TSC, Bobbie Mielnichuk of Edmonton and Tess Simpson of CSL. The Canadians were just over second off the winning time posted by Australia.

‘’The relay went very well,’’ said Van Landeghem. ‘’We performed great. The overall time was really good. We finished closer to the Australians than expected.’’

In the women’s 200 backstroke, Yukiko Watanabe of Japan won the gold medal in 2:13.30 with Dominique Bouchard of NBYT second in a personal best 2:13.74, Caitlin Sinclair of Australia third in 2:15.65 and Simpson fourth in 2:15.73.

Bell and Beatrice Pineau of Boischatel, Que., were seventh and eighth respectively in the women’s 400 freestyle.

David Dimitrov of Calgary was involved in two of Canada’s five medals on Friday in swimming action at the Australian Olympic Youth Festival.

Canada collected three silver and two bronze on the day. After two days of competition the team has 10 medals with two gold, five silver and three bronze.

In the men’s 4X200 freestyle relay, Australia and Canada waged a hard fought battle with the hosts winning by a fingertip in 7:31.34. Canada with Calgary swimmers Chad Bobrosky, James Kendrick, Dimitrov and Karl Wolk were clocked in 7:31.95 while Japan was a distant third.

‘’It was a really close race and we almost got the Aussies,’’ said Dimitrov. ‘’The guys did really well and we pulled together.’’

Just 20 minutes earlier, Dimitrov bettered his personal best by six second with a bronze medal in the 400-metre individual medley clocking 4:27.28. Seto Daiya of Japan won the gold in 4:26.09 and Mitchell Larkin of Australia was third in 4:26.80. Braeden Newton of St. Albert, Alta., was seventh.

‘’I’ve been training really hard and my overall race was very good,’’ said Dimitrov, 17. ‘’There wasn’t one individual stroke that improved by a lot. I’m really excited about my performance. This is what I was aiming for.’’

Canadians earned two medals in a close women’s 100 breaststroke. Leiston Pickett of Australia won the gold in 1:10.14, Marie-Soleil Jean-Lachapelle of Montreal was second in 1:10.17 and Chelsey Salli of Langley, B.C., third in 1:10.27.

‘’I’m very surprised, I didn’t even expect to make a final here,’’ said Jean-Lachapelle, 17, who bettered her personal best by more than a second. ‘’The key was having such a strong swim in the preliminaries, that really fired me up. I had a great opening split in the final and I knew I was in a tight race to the finish and gave everything I had to the wall.’’

Salli also bettered her personal best in the prelims and again in the final.

‘’I had a great second length but not enough to beat them,’’ said Salli, 17. ‘’It was exciting to have two Canadians on the podium. It’s a race I can definitely build on for my 200 breaststroke on Sunday.’’

Canada also won silver in the women’s 4X200 freestyle relay with Hilary Bell of TSC, Bobbie Mielnichuk of Edmonton, Bronwyn Pasloski of Whitehorse and Beatrice Pineau of Boischatel, Que. Australia took the gold.

Other Canadian finalists in men’s competition were Zachary Somjen of Vancouver fourth in the 100 breaststroke and Wolk fifth in the 100 freestyle. For the women, Bell and Tess Simpson of CSL, were fourth and sixth respectively in the 100 freestyle and Salli and Dominique Bouchard of NBYT, sixth and seventh in the 400 IM.

Tess Simpson of CSL and Graham Hawes of SCAR each won gold Thursday to highlight a five-medal performance for Canadian swimmers at the Australian Olympic Youth Festival.

In the women’s 100-metre backstroke, Simpson and Chantal Van Landeghem of Winnipeg, the youngest swimmer on the Canadian team at age 14, finished 1-2 clocking 1:02.95 and 1:03.13 respectively. Whitney Ireland of Australia was third in 1:03.14.

‘’It felt amazing to get the win,’’ said Simpson, 17, ranked number-one in the event. ‘’It felt smooth and I was in control. The best parts of the race for me were my start and my underwater fly kick. During the race it was hard to see what was going on but I knew I was headed for a close finish.’’

Hawes knocked more than a second off his personal best and finished ahead of three Australians for the victory in the men’s 100 backstroke in 56.78. Benjamin Edmonds was second 57.44 and Phillip Butcher third in 58.43. Braeden Newton of St. Albert, Alta., was seventh.

‘’My primary goal was to get the personal best,’’ said Hawes, 17, ranked first in the event heading into the competition. ‘’I knew the Australians would be a major challenge and that was a big motivator as well. The best strategy was to go out there and make sure I didn’t leave anything in the tank.’’

In the men’s 200 freestyle, Justin James of Australia broke the meet record to win the gold in 1:51.51. Chad Bobrosky of Calgary, ranked 12th heading into the event, bettered his personal best by four seconds to win the silver in 1:52.60 and Luke Kerswell of Australia was third in 1:52.74. Karl Wolk of Calgary was fifth.

“I wasn’t surprised to win a medal because I produced the swim I was capable of,’’ said Bobrosky, 16. ‘’I’ve been working hard on my technique the last few months and I think that really paid off today. Plus it was very exciting to race for a national team for the first time.’’

Katie Goldman led Australia to a 1-2 finish in the women’s 200 freestyle in 2:01.16 with Kelly Marquenie second in 2:01.98 and Hilary Bell of TSC third in 2:03.34. Bobbie Mielnichuk of Edmonton was seventh.

Other Canadian finalists were Wolk placing fifth in the men’s 200 butterfly while Brenna MacLean of Vancouver and Van Landeghem were fifth and eighth respectively in the women’s 200 butterfly.

Swimming Canada’s Youth Team is fired up to take on the World at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival from January 15-18, 2009. The Canadian squad will take part in a 4-day meet competing against the Worlds best under-17 swimmers. These up and comers will race in the Sydney Olympic Games facility.

“Our Youth team is fired up to race,” said Pierre Lafontaine, CEO and National Coach for Swimming Canada. “The team had a great training camp opportunity a few months ago and are excited to gain this incredible experience on the international stage.”

By competing at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival, these 18 athletes will get a taste of how exciting it is to represent their country on the World stage. They will race the best, interact with athletes from other sports, but most of all will get to experience an environment reminiscent of an Olympic Games.

The Australian Youth Olympic Festival (AYOF) was initiated by the Australian Olympic Committee following the success of 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. The AYOF was first held in Sydney in January 2001, and has been held bi-annually ever since. In 2009, over 2500 athletes and officials from 25 countries will be competing in 21 different sports.
Canada’s youth Team will be led by Head Coach Cliff Noth of North Bay Ontario and assisted by Sylvain Pineau of Scarborough.

Youth Swim Team Canada consists of:
Hilary Bell (TSC), Dominique Bouchard (NBYT), Bobbie Mielnichuk (Edmonton, AB), Bronwyn Pasloski (Whitehorse, YK), Beatrice Pineau (Boischatel,QC), Chelsey Salli (Langley, BC), Tess Simpson (CSL), Brenna MacLean (Vancouver,BC), Marie-Soleil Jean-Lachapelle (Montreal,QC) and Chantal Van Landeghem (Winnipeg, MN) representing the women’s team.

On the men’s side, Chad Bobrosky (Calgary, AB), David Dimitrov (Calgary, AB), Graham Hawes (SCAR), James Kendrick (Calgary, AB), Braeden Newton (St.Albert, AB), Austin Rockett (MSSAC), Zachary Somjen (Vancouver, BC) and Karl Wolk (Calgary, AB).

Many of Canada’s top senior athletes are graduates of this highly competitive international Youth-aged event.

Swimming Canada proudly announces its team that will represent the nation at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival from January 15-18, 2009. The Canadian squad will take part in a 4-day meet competing against the Worlds best under-17 swimmers. These up and comers will race in the Sydney Olympic Games facility.

“These young swimmers will be challenging for a spot on Canada’s 2012 Olympic Team,” said Pierre Lafontaine, CEO and National Coach for Swimming Canada. “By competing at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival, these 16 athletes will get a taste of how exciting it is to represent their country on a World stage. They will race the best, interact with athletes from other sports, and live a games village.”

The Australian Youth Olympic Festival (AYOF) was initiated by the Australian Olympic Committee following the success of 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. The AYOF was first held in Sydney in January 2001, and has been held bi-annually ever since. In 2009, over 2500 athletes and officials from 25 countries will be competing in 21 different sports.

Canada’s youth Team will be led by Head Coach Cliff Noth of North Bay Ontario and assisted by Sylvain Pineau of Scarborough.

Hilary Bell (Toronto ON), Dominique Bouchard (North Bay, ON), Bobbie Mielnichuk (Edmonton, AB), Bronwyn Pasloski (Whitehorse, YK), Beatrice Pineau (Boischatel,QC), Chelsey Salli (Langley, BC), Tess Simpson (Ingleside, ON) and Chantal Van Landeghem (Winnipeg, MN) will represent the women’s team.

On the men’s side, Chad Bobrosky (Calgary, AB), David Dimitrov (Calgary, AB), Graham Hawes (Scarborough, ON), James Kendrick (Calgary, AB), Braeden Newton (St.Albert, AB), Austin Rockett (Mississauga, ON), Zachary Somjen (Vancouver, BC) and Karl Wolk (Calgary, AB).

These future Olympic Champions will get to experience an environment reminiscent of an Olympic Games.

Many of Canada’s top senior athletes are graduates of this highly competitive international Youth-aged event.