2025 Canada Games Profile

Leading up to the Canada Games, Swim Ontario is highlighting some of the members of our fantastic team!

Performances.

That includes the exceptional ones, too.

For those who follow the ambitious and competitive efforts of athletes, get a glimpse of Isabella (Ella) Cooper swimming for personal best times, medals and the glory that materializes whenever she’s in water.

There have been many remarkable and notable achievements by this 16-year-old Toronto athlete who is fortunate to spend her high school days splitting time in the classroom and preparing in ways that were not possible before, for significant aquatic athletic events.

Cooper is a student in the High-Performance program at Silverthorn Collegiate. It’s for elite athletes involved in regional, provincial, national and international competitions. In her studies, she’s accumulated academic honors grades.

After the fact, there have been many races that ricochet through her mind – both phenomenal and the ones where she is aware that things could have gone better. For viewers, there are many more where her ability to generate excitement thrives at a high level.

Cooper will soon get another opportunity for triumph and fame.

It’s the national showcase of amateur talent – the Canada Games set for August 8 to 25 at the massive Aquarena Fitness Complex located on the grounds of Memorial University in St. John’s, Nfld.

Cooper was one of 24 young Olympic stream athletes chosen from across the province. Joining her are six para swimmers and four with Special Olympics. In total, Ontario’s contingent totals 34 swimmers.

Olympic, Paralympic and Special Olympics athletes make up the contingent from a province that has had its share of dominating the largest amateur sports event in the country.

It’s also considered to be a showcase of able-bodied athletes and athletes with physical and intellectual disabilities. Stellar performances at previous Canada Games often become a stepping stone to other major events.

Cooper, in her first appearance at the Games, found out about her selection from her coach at the Lakeshore Swim Club. It happened when she went to watch a friend compete in a swim meet in Markham.

“I was ecstatic and realized these invitations don’t happen every day,” said Cooper, who remembers when her parents registered her for swim lessons like her older sister. “I called my parents – but they already knew. I never had big goals when I was younger. This is exciting, surreal and something special.”

So, the question remains, how will Cooper do against the best from across the country?

Well, if the Canadian Trials held recently in Victoria, B.C. is any indication, Cooper will do just fine. She placed second in the 1,500 metres junior category.

Distance races may appear to be her forte with success in the freestyle event over 800 and 1,500 metres. However, don’t rule out the 200-metres butterfly or the 400-metres individual medley.

The past six months have been solid for her in the water with personal best performances in each event.

“I’m representing Ontario and out to do my best – and hopefully come back with a medal,” she added while hinting that making the National Junior team is her dream come true.

So is wanting to, one day, compete for Canada at a World championship. Cooper has proven that anything is possible. Three years ago, she tore quadriceps femoris in her left leg. That’s the formal medical explanation for a group of muscles in front of the thigh. It happened during a school physical education class outdoors while playing a popular game called capture the flag.

“Felt the pain, it got progressively worse, and we called the doctor,” she said. I was out of the water. Took four months to heal, but everything is fine now.”

Cooper hasn’t restricted her swim races to indoor pools. In November of 2024, as part of a Swimming Canada development program, she competed in the spectacular Barbados Open Water Festival in Bridgetown – and enjoyed the unique experience of gaining open water race experience. She won one race and placed third in another.

There’s a phrase – one thing at a time. It’s a few words but with so much meaning. The words advise focusing on one task before moving on to the next. It's a familiar strategy for managing workload, improving focus, potentially increasing productivity – and even winning swim races.

David Grossman is a veteran multi award-winning Journalist and Broadcaster with some of Canada’s major media, including the Toronto Star and SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN, and a Public Relations professional for 50+ years in Canadian sports and Government relations.