Road to Trials

Welcome to the Road to Trials series, where we are featuring four swimmers in their lead up to 2024 Olympic & Paralympic Trials

Every time Kevin Zhang enters the swimming pool, he embarks on a new chapter in his book of life.

It’s not only promising and quite enlightening, but Zhang’s journey as a competitive athlete is one that continues to bring a daily sense of optimism and what he hopes will be a tradition of performance celebration.

Just a year out of high school, forget about Zhang being that up-and-coming individual. You know, the one that tends to fit the description of being on a scary tightrope nervously attempting to cross over a canyon. That’s not him at all.

To know the 18-year-old, also to hear the accolades from other people on what they say about him, and even observe his development and maturity, one clearly sees a picture of prosperity starting to fill with brightness.

Okay, so he just might be somewhat bashful at times. When it relates to swimming, things change quite rapidly. Zhang is focussed and emboldened with confidence. He’s also hungry for knowledge while inspired and fixated on the elements of growth, process, and success.

“I just enter every race wanting to do my best,” said the Mississauga native, who is finishing his first year of academic studies at the University of Waterloo where he is doing separate degrees - in computer sciences and business.

Check out these accomplishments in year number one of university swim competition and focussing on a stroke that, arguably could be the hardest swim stroke to perform.

It’s one that involves both arms moving symmetrically. The butterfly calls for muscular endurance, the movement of the hips and chest, and a powerful kick. All this while maintaining proper body position and breathing.

In 2024, three race finals and three medals: gold, silver, and bronze. The gold came in the 200-metres butterfly at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships and a bronze at the USports Canadian university finals. He earned a silver at the OUA event in the 100-metres butterfly.

At 6-foot-3, Zhang also stood out on the podium at his school’s athletic banquet and was honored as the men’s Most Valuable Player in swimming and university’s rookie of the year.

Fresh off winning his marquee event at the 2024 Speedo Canadian Open held at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre (TPASC), Zhang is part of the Canadian contingent of high-performance swimmers off to train in Florida, hoping to excel at the Olympic Trials in May.

His dream is to make the team that is selected to compete at the Summer Olympics in France. The challenge, and it’s a big one, is to improve on his personal best time of one minute, 58.97. To be considered for Paris, Zhang said he needs to finish with a qualifying time of 1:55.78.

“I have worked hard to get to where I am – it’s put me in a good place,” he said. “I need to work harder and six weeks of training in Florida can only help. I’m hoping for the best, to take another major step in my swimming career. I’m nervous, but confident. I’d be happy with a new personal best time.”

While devoting an average of 20 hours a week to training in the pool, also enhanced with time lifting weights in the gym, Zhang has huge praise for his coaches.

“I’ve had four or five coaches in the past two years, and I consider myself to be very fortunate with great advice from them,” he said. “Where I am now, I attribute that to them – they have all brought certain strengths and helped me in different ways.”

Talk about great coaching, enter Jacky Beckford Henriques. She’s been the head swim coach at the University of Waterloo since 2017 and was a former OUA coach of the year. Prior to that, she was the head coach of Jamaica’s national team at three Olympic Games.

As for coaching Zhang, Beckford Henriques recalls the recruiting days and hoping he would choose Waterloo.

“I had seen him swim, talented and coaches were jumping at the opportunity to get him to their universities,” said Beckford Henriques. “I didn’t get too excited until he attended a session with potential students in our (Waterloo) conference room.

“He excelled at swimming before he came to me. My challenge was to do what I could to have him continue to succeed and to make him believe that he can be even better. He is willing to work, has the drive and desire to win and continues to amaze me with his talent.”

As for the road to international competition, Zhang doesn’t see it as a pressure point.

In fact, he’s gone that route before swimming at the 2023 Pan Am Games in Chile, the World Junior Aquatics finals that same year hosted by Israel and Euro 2024 in Luxembourg. While in Israel, Zhang set a Canadian record in the 15-to-17-year-old age division.

“The dream is always to try for the Olympics,” said Zhang. “But at the end of the day, I always will know that I tried my best. If I make it, that’s great. If not, there will be another chance, other opportunities come about. I am proud of what I achieve and know to keep working hard.”

Like any sport, swimming has seen blooms of talent. Inspiration becomes self-sustaining.

Previous races resort to a series of escalating dares, but confidence creates a new kind of motivation. Zhang knows it well.

Zhang is being featured in a Swim Ontario “Road to Trials” series of stories highlighting provincial swimmers with aspirations to make the Games of the Olympiad, known as the Summer Olympic Games, scheduled for Paris, France from July 26 to August 11.

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.