2025 OUA Swimmer Spotlight Series

The 2025 OUA Championships are coming up February 7-9 in Markham! Meet some of the Ontario University swimmers competing in this new series!

Knowing what a person can embrace and value in life, can bring much sparkle and lead to high spirits as well as meaningful times.

Tatum O’Connor went through a bit of what some may refer to as a rollercoaster ride in her mid-teens. It involved making some decisions that pertained to personal values, motivation and focussing efforts on a variety of challenges.

She’s not alone. Lots of people go through those times in their lives.

For O’Connor, though, it amounted to years as a competitive swimmer.

Deviating from that world of aquatics, was on her mind back when she was a grade 11 high school student at St. Mary Catholic Secondary in Hamilton. At the time, O’Connor was an age group National champion who was swimming with the Golden Horseshoe Aquatic Club.

But those ambitious days came to a quick halt.

For 10 years, O’Connor had aggressively trained and spent countless hours in the pool at McMaster University. With home being in nearby Dundas, part of the Greater Hamilton Region, there was a considerable amount of commuting, too. Like most athletic-minded individuals, there may have been lots of thoughts about taking her success to some of the biggest competitions.

But O’Connor abruptly put a stop to the sport.

Looking back on those early years of swim lessons as a toddler, it had become something much bigger when, at the age of six, she chose to take the sport to the next level. It was all about swimming for personal best times and awards.

In the eyes of many, she was doing well. What counted more was personal satisfaction.

Could she have been bogged down from a buildup of hours devoted to practice in the pool? Maybe she was doubting her ability? Distractions? Was it just time for a change – to explore other things that may have been shelved because of that strong commitment to swimming?

Let’s turn to O’Connor for the answer.

“I was 16 years old and hit a plateau in my performance,” she said in a telephone interview, taking time away from her studies. “In the pool, I was fast – but not excelling to the standards that I had expected. I kept persevering, but … some of my peers had also quit and I just fell out of love for swimming.”

O’Connor had been at a swim meet in Markham, where her time in the 100-metres backstroke was outstanding. It qualified her for the National age group finals. That’s just about the time when she decided to pack it in.

“Club swimming and training in a singular sport for so long – too much commitment, I just needed a break,” she added. “I can also be stubborn when I also don’t meet my expectations.”

O’Connor did remain active with physical fitness workouts in the gym and recreational swimming, but that French phrase “a fait accompli” just may be another way of describing her decision to close out the competitive days.

Call it a semi-retirement of sorts, because O’Connor – after close to five years of abstaining from the competitive sport – had second thoughts. Out came the competitive spirit – and it was a decision that bode well.

Singer and songwriter Billy Joel just may have the perfect words for O’Connor. It’s his song – “Just the Way You Are”.

Now a 22-year-old in her fourth year of studies in Kinesiology at Brock University in St. Catharines, O’Connor is not only focussed on a career in health care or maybe medical sales. Nursing is also a possibility. You guessed it, it’s about helping people.

But swimming is also a high priority. Feeding on her past success, endorphins thriving and a robust focus on celebration, O’Connor returned to the pool.

“Taking a break of about four and a half years (from the sport) and seeing the results I've made in a short amount of time has been the biggest surprise and a huge motivator for me,” said O’Connor.

“I was in my second year of studies at Brock when a friend of a friend connected with me via social media and said the university had a new swim coach – and would I be interested in returning,” she said. “I let it go. But in my third year, I was in the pool when the coach approached me with a comment that I was better than just recreational swimming.

“There was no pressure, and I was out of shape, but thought it wouldn’t hurt to try. The urge for competitive swimming returned and (coach Dave Ling) was very positive. The team atmosphere was inviting, and I saw room for growth.”

Jubilant to be back, O’Connor didn’t look out of place at the 2024 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships. She won a bronze medal in the 50-metres butterfly and placed fourth in the 50-metres backstroke.

At the USports, or Canadian university finals, competition was a bit tougher – keeping in mind her lengthy absence from the pool. She had two 11th place finishes in the 50 and 100-metres backstroke events.

Flash forward to this swim season, O’Connor – owner of three individual event records at Brock and part of three more in relays – enters the OUA championships ranked in the top five of three events. Based on Divisional events, she’s had a trio of personal best times and is a medal candidate in all of them.

“I am very fortunate to be where I am and to be provided with a sport like swimming,” she added. “The opportunity to come back has been nothing short of incredible.”

O’Connor may have stepped out of her comfort zone, but there is a saying that “Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying: 'I will try again tomorrow’.

Swim Ontario, in conjunction with the OUA, values the commitment to the sport by athletes, coaches and officials in Ontario and Canadian universities. This story is part of a series that has the spotlight shining on a variety of individuals, and their post-secondary institutions, who excel in academics, swimming and community life.

Photos: Brock University

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.