Williams Lake Blue Fins swimmers will get an opportunity to share the pool and soak in some wisdom from a Canadian Olympian this month.
White Rock’s Hilary Caldwell, a bronze medalist for Canada at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in the 200-metre backstroke, is coming to Williams Lake and Quesnel to share the pool with competitive swimmers and, later, to speak at the Gibraltar Room in the lakecity.
On Friday, Jan. 11, Blue Fins swimmers are invited to travel to Quesnel to see Caldwell, then on Monday, Jan. 14, Caldwell will be making her way to Williams Lake for another pool session for local swimmers and to host a speaking engagement afterwards in the Gibraltar Room.
The pool session will take place in Williams Lake in the Sam Ketcham Pool at the West Fraser Aquatic Centre from 4 to 5:30 p.m., with the talk to follow from 5:40 to 6:10 p.m.
READ MORE: Blue Fins to host Olympians
Anyone is welcome to attend the Gibraltar Room speaking session, including parents, free of charge.
Any business wanting to help sponsor the event, hosted by the Blue Fins, is encouraged to contact head coach Chad Webb at 250-303-1199, or contact the club through its website.
“This is an awesome event for our region,” Webb said.
This is not the first time the Blue Fins have played host to Canadian Olympians as in 2012 Victoria’s Ryan Cochrane, a bronze medalist in the 2008 Olympics and a silver medalist in the 2012 Olympics, hosted a swim, meet and greet with the swimmer.
HILARY CALDWELL’S BIOGRAPHY:
In her second Olympic appearance, Hilary Caldwell won 200m backstroke bronze at Rio 2016 for Canada’s sixth medal of the Games in the pool.
Caldwell’s major international breakthrough came in 2013 when she not only qualified for her first world championship team but also won bronze in the 200m backstroke, becoming Canada’s first world medallist in that event since Cheryl Gibson in 1978. She broke the Canadian record in all three rounds, setting the mark at 2:06.80, and went on to be named 2013 Female Swimmer of the Year at Swimming Canada’s Big Splash Awards.
In 2014 Caldwell won 200m backstroke bronze at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. She then set a Pan Am record in winning 200m backstroke gold at Toronto 2015, sharing the podium with silver medallist teammate Dominique Bouchard. At the 2015 FINA World Championships she made it to the final of the 200m backstroke and semifinals of the 100m backstroke. A second place finish at the 2012 Canadian Trials earned her a trip to the Olympic Games in London where she finished 18th in the 200m backstroke.
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