FOUR OLYMPIANS HIGHLIGHT CANADIAN SWIM TEAM AT 2009 SUMMER UNIVERSIADE
The Canadian swim team had one of its best-ever Universiade showings two years ago in Bangkok, Thailand, when a group of 28 athletes claimed 10 medals, including four golds, at the biennial Games. The four first-place finishes at the pool were the second most in history for Canada at the Universiade, while the 10 podiums ranked fourth on the all-time list.
Canadian swimmers won a team-record six events and 15 medals in Buffalo in 1993, and came back with three victories and 14 medals from both the 1991 Games in Sheffield, England, and the 1983 Games in Edmonton.
2009 Summer Universiade website: www.universiade-belgrade2009.org
Team Canada website: www.universitysport.ca/belgrade
\"Swimming has been a strong contributor to Canada's medal count at past FISU Games, and we look to continue this trend in Serbia,\" said Team Canada head coach Mike Blondal, the leader of the University of Calgary swim program. \"With Olympic finalists Brian Johns and Keith Beavers leading the team, and a wide range of experience from those selected, I think medals and best international performances should be the goals.\"
Highlighting the 2009 selection is the Olympic foursome of Johns of Richmond, B.C., Beavers of Waterloo, Ont., Richard Hortness of Medicine Hat, Alta., and Matt Rose of Lindsay, Ont.
Johns, who completed his CIS career at the University of British Columbia in 2006-07, and Hortness, who used his last year of eligibility at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2007-08 after starting his varsity career at Lethbridge, are two of seven returnees from the Bangkok Universiade.
UQTR's Jennifer Carroll of Montreal, UBC's Tara Ivanitz of Vernon, B.C., Calgary's Seanna Mitchell of Manotick, Ont., Cegep François-Xavier-Garneau's Jonathan Blouin of Quebec City, and UBC's Callum Ng of Calgary also return from the 2007 squad.
Carroll, Hortness and Ng will all make their third University Games appearances this summer, having also represented Canada in Izmir, Turkey, in 2005.
UBC's Haylee Johnson of Vancouver is the eighth Team Canada member with Universiade experience. She missed the Bangkok Games but was in Izmir four years ago.
Johns, who was Canada's flag-bearer for the opening ceremonies in Bangkok, amassed three medals in Thailand including gold in the 200-metre individual medley, silver with the 4x100 freestyle relay and bronze in the 200 free. He will be the only Canadian looking to defend a Universiade swimming title in Belgrade.
Only two Canadian swimmers have captured gold medals at two straight Universiades in the past, and only one has successfully defended a world university title.
Guylaine Cloutier won the 100 breaststroke in both 1991 and 1993, and also helped the Canadian 4x200 free relay claim gold in 1993. Patricia Noall was crowned in the 400 free in 1991 before joining Cloutier on the 1993 gold-medal winning relay.
Besides Johns, Hortness and Mitchell are the only 2009 returnees who had reached the podium in Bangkok. Hortness finished second with the men's 4x100 freestyle relay, while Mitchell was part of the third-place women's 4x100 medley relay.
Carroll, the CIS female swimmer of the year in 2004-05, won silver in the 50 backstroke in Izmir in 2005.
Johns, who just completed a human kinetics degree at UBC, is the most decorated swimmer in CIS history. The 26-year-old medaled in each of his 34 career races at the CIS championships, including 33 wins and one second-place finish, while leading the Thunderbird men to five national titles. He is the only athlete in history - male or female - to be named CIS swimmer of the year on three occasions and received the BLG Award as CIS male athlete of the year in 2001-02.
Johns represented Canada at the last three Summer Olympics reaching four finals including in the 400-metre individual medley in 2008 (7th) and the 4x200 freestyle relay in 2008 (5th), 2004 (5th) and 2000 (7th). He currently holds the Canadian record in the 400 IM, is part of the relay team that holds the national mark in the 4x200 free, and held the 400 IM short-course world record for almost three years between February 23, 2003, and December 9, 2005.
\"University Games in recent years has been used as an important stepping stone for swimmers to make the Olympic team. It's a chance to compete at a multi-sport games where you don't just represent yourself or the swim team but Canada as a whole, which is always an honour,\" Johns said. \"For me personally, I'm looking forward to encompassing a leadership role on the team to help myself and my teammates achieve their goals and help carry the momentum Canadian swimming has coming out of the Beijing Olympics.\"
Beavers, who started his CIS career this past season as a Masters student at the University of Waterloo, competed at the last two Summer Olympics, finishing seventh in the final of the 200 IM last August.
Hortness was an Olympian in 2008, while Rose was at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Rose currently studies at the University of Alberta but does not swim for the Golden Bears as he used his university eligibility at Texas A&M from 2000-01 to 2003-04.
The University of Calgary Dinos, who captured their first-ever CIS women's team banner in 2008-09 and finished second in the men's standings, send no less than 11 swimmers to Serbia including Mitchell, Jessika Craig of Picton, Ont., Breanna Hendricks of Cochrane, Alta., Jessica Johnson of Calgary, Hanna Kubas of Edmonton, Allison Long of Calgary, Katy Murdoch of Calgary, Kevyn Peterson of Salmon Arm, B.C., Kelly Aspinall of Nanoose Bay, B.C., David Dimitrov of Calgary and Chris Tobin of Oxford Mills, Ont.
Long and Dimitrov will be freshmen at the U of C next fall.
The UBC Thunderbirds, CIS men's champions this season and silver medalists in women's competition, will have six representatives in Belgrade including Johns, Ivanitz, Johnson, Ng, Hanna Pierse of Edmonton and Rory Biskupski of West Vancouver.
Ng is a two-time CIS male swimmer of the year, claiming the honour in 2005-06 and 2007-08.
Rounding out the Canadian women's team are Vanessa Charron of Quebec City (St. Lawrence College), Melanie Dodds of Maple Ridge, B.C. (Texas A&M), Paméla Filiatrault-Veilleux of Lévis, Que. (Laval), Marie-Soleil Jean-Lachapelle of Montreal (Collège Ahuntsic), Heather Maitland of Toronto (Toronto), Hayley Nell of London, Ont. (Western), Marie-Pier Ratelle of Trois-Rivières, Que. (Laval), and Kayla Voytechek of Lethbridge, Alta. (Alberta).
Rounding out the men's squad are Warren Barnes of Pickering, Ont. (Pittsburgh), Ray Betuzzi of Calgary (Minnesota), Steven Bielby of Pointe-Claire, Que. (McGill), Zack Chetrat of Oakville, Ont. (Toronto), Xavier Desharnais of Sherbrooke, Que. (Cegep de Sherbrooke), Philippe Dubreuil of Sherbrooke (Sherbrooke), Bryn Jones of London (Western), Marco Monaco of Oakville (Toronto), Nicolas Murray of Matane, Que. (Laval), David Sharpe of Halifax (freshman at Dalhousie in 2009-10), Matthew Swanston of Newmarket, Ont. (freshman at Stanford in 2009-10), and Brian Yakiwchuk of Prince George, B.C. (Alberta).
Blondal's assistant coaches in Serbia will be U of C's Kevin Anderson of Calgary, Alberta's Bill Humby of Edmonton, Laval's Nicholas Perron of Quebec City, and Mohamed Marouf of Sherbrooke.
Laval's Johanne Girardin of Quebec City and James Hood of Edmonton will be the team managers.
Rounding out the support staff are massage therapists Ronald Castro of Toronto, Shawn Trimble of Vancouver and Aurel Hamran of Edmonton, physiologist Jane Labreche of Vancouver, and video technician Graham Olson of Calgary.
TEAM CANADA ROSTER
Women
Women | |||
Name | University | Eligibility * | Hometown |
Jennifer Carroll | UQTR | 5 | Montreal, Que. |
Vanessa Charron | St. Lawrence College | - | Quebec City, Que. |
Jessika Craig | Calgary | 2 | Picton, Ont. |
Melanie Dodds | Texas A&M | 2 | Maple Ridge, B.C. |
Paméla Filiatrault-Veilleux | Laval | 3 | Lévis, Que. |
Breanna Hendriks | Calgary | 2 | Cochrane, Alta. |
Tara Ivanitz | UBC | 3 | Vernon, B.C. |
Marie-Soleil Jean-Lachapelle | Collège Ahuntsic | - | Montreal, Que. |
Haylee Johnson | UBC | 5 | Vancouver, B.C. |
Jessica Johnson | Calgary | 2 | Calgary, Alta. |
Hanna Kubas | Calgary | 5 | Edmonton, Alta. |
Allison Long | Calgary | A | Calgary, Alta. |
Heather Maitland | Toronto | 2 | Toronto, Ont. |
Seanna Mitchell | Calgary | 2 | Manotick, Ont. |
Katy Murdoch | Calgary | 4 | Calgary, Alta. |
Hayley Nell | Western | 2 | London, Ont. |
Kevyn Peterson | Calgary | 3 | Salmon Arm, B.C. |
Hanna Pierse | UBC | 3 | Edmonton, Alta. |
Marie-Pier Ratelle | Laval | 3 | Trois-Rivières, Que. |
Kayla Voytechek | Alberta | 1 | Lethbridge, Alta. |
Men | |||
Name | University | Eligibility * | Hometown |
Kelly Aspinall | Calgary | 2 | Nanoose Bay, B.C. |
Warren Barnes | Pittsburgh | B | Pickering, Ont. |
Keith Beavers | Waterloo | 1 | Waterloo, Ont. |
Ray Betuzzi | Minnesota | 3 | Calgary, Alta. |
Steven Bielby | McGill | 1 | Pointe-Claire, Que. |
Rory Biskupski | UBC | 2 | West Vancouver, B.C. |
Jonathan Blouin | Cégep F-X-Garneau | - | Quebec City, Que. |
Zack Chetrat | Toronto | 1 | Oakville, Ont. |
Xavier Desharnais | Cégep de Sherbrooke | - | Sherbrooke, Que. |
David Dimitrov | Calgary | A | Calgary, Alta. |
Philippe Dubreuil | Sherbrooke | C | Sherbrooke, Que. |
Richard Hortness | UNLV | D | Medicine Hat, Alta. |
Brian Johns | UBC | C | Richmond, B.C. |
Bryn Jones | Western | 2 | London, Ont. |
Marco Monaco | Toronto | 3 | Oakville, Ont. |
Nicolas Murray | Laval | 5 | Matane, Que. |
Callum Ng | UBC | 5 | Calgary, Alta. |
Matt Rose | Alberta | E | Lindsay, Ont. |
David Sharpe | Dalhousie | F | Halifax, N.S. |
Matthew Swanston | Stanford | G | Newmarket, Ont. |
Chris Tobin | Calgary | 5 | Oxford Mills, Ont. |
Brian Yakiwchuk | Alberta | 2 | Prince George, B.C. |
* Indicates year of eligibility used in 2008-09 CIS or NCAA season.
A - Long and Dimitrov will be freshmen at the University of Calgary in 2009-10.
B - Barnes last participated in NCAA competition in 2006-07.
C - Dubreuil and Johns last participated in CIS competition in 2006-07.
D - Hortness last participated in NCAA competition in 2007-08.
E - Rose last participated in NCAA competition in 2003-04. He now studies at the University of Alberta but used all his university eligibility at Texas A&M.
F - Sharpe will be a freshman at Dalhousie University in 2009-10.
G - Swanston will be a freshman at Stanford University in 2009-10.
STAFF
Manager: Johanne Girardin, Quebec City (Laval University)
Manager: James Hood, Edmonton
Head coach: Mike Blondal, Calgary (University of Calgary)
Assistant coach: Kevin Anderson, Calgary (University of Calgary)
Assistant coach: Bill Humby, Edmonton (University of Alberta)
Assistant coach: Mohamed Marouf, Sherbrooke
Assistant coach: Nicholas Perron, Quebec City (Laval University)
Massage therapist: Ronald Castro, Toronto
Massage therapist: Shawn Trimble, Vancouver
Massage therapist: Aurel Hamran, Edmonton
Physiologist: Jane Labreche, Vancouver
Video technician: Graham Olson, Calgary
CANADA'S SWIMMING GOLD MEDALS AT THE SUMMER UNIVERSIADE:
2007 (Bangkok, Thailand): MacKenzie Downing, women's 100m butterfly
2007 (Bangkok, Thailand): Audrey Lacroix, women's 200m butterfly
2007 (Bangkok, Thailand): Darryl Rudolf, men's 100m butterfly
2007 (Bangkok, Thailand): Brian Johns, men's 200m individual medley
1993 (Buffalo, USA): Guylaine Cloutier, women's 100m breaststroke
1993 (Buffalo, USA): Marianne Limpert, women's 200m individual medley
1993 (Buffalo, USA): Nancy Sweetnam, women's 400m individual medley
1993 (Buffalo, USA): Women's 4x200m freestyle relay
1993 (Buffalo, USA): Turlough O'Hare, men's 400m freestyle
1993 (Buffalo, USA): Turlough O'Hare, men's 800m freestyle
1991 (Sheffield, Great Britain): Guylaine Cloutier, women's 100m breaststroke
1991 (Sheffield, Great Britain): Patricia Noall, women's 400m freestyle
1991 (Sheffield, Great Britain): Deke Botsford, men's 100m backstroke
1983 (Edmonton, Canada): Mike West, men's 100m backstroke
1983 (Edmonton, Canada): Alex Baumann, men's 200m individual medley
1983 (Edmonton, Canada): Alex Baumann, men's 400m individual medley
1977 (Sofia, Bulgaria): Anne Gagnon, women's 200m breaststroke
1977 (Sofia, Bulgaria): Graham Smith, men's 200m breaststroke
About the Summer Universiade
The Summer Universiade is an international multi-sport event that takes place every two years and is second only to the Olympic Games in the number of participating athletes and countries. The Universiade is open to competitors who are at least 17 and less than 28 years of age as of January 1 in the year of the Games. Participants must be full-time students at a post-secondary institution (university, college, CEGEP) or have graduated from a post-secondary institution in the year preceding the event.
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-two universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, and 32 World University Championships. CIS is proud to support the 2015 Edmonton Summer Universiade bid. For further information, visit www.universitysport.ca.
About Swimming Canada
Swimming Canada serves as the national governing body of competitive swimming. Swimming Canada's vision of Swimming to Win; Winning for Life! reflects the lifelong attributes of the sport. The federation comprises 75,000 members and 400 swim clubs across the country. Canadians are global leaders in high performance swimming and development for both able-bodied swimmers and swimmers with a disability. Swimming is recognized as one of the most celebrated and successful Canadian summer Olympic sports.
Source: CIS Communications
Photo Credit: Joël Côté-Cright