|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Human Interest | |
|---|---|
Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Victoria, BC, CAN |
General Interest | |
| Famous relatives | His twin brother Devon is also a multi-sport athlete while his younger brother Liam has competed in swimming at junior level. (Team Unify, 15 Jul 2010) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | He was a Red Cross swim lesson graduate and joined the ranks of competitive swimming. |
General Interest | |
| Awards and honours | He was awarded a President's Award in 2016 by Swimming Canada for being an ambassador for Canadian swimming. (swimswam.com, 30 Sep 2016) He was named 2014 Canadian Male Swimmer of the Year in Swimswam.com's Swammy Awards. (swimswam.com, 22 Dec 2014) He was named Americas Male Swimmer of the Year in 2014 by Swimming World Magazine. He shared the award with Tyler Clary. (swimmingworldmagazine.com, 01 Dec 2014) He was named Male Swimmer of the Year by Swimming Canada for eight consecutive years from 2008 to 2015. (islandswimming.com, 04 Nov 2011; timescolonist.com, 27 Nov 2013; swimswam.com, 26 Nov 2014; timescolonist.com, 08 Dec 2015) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He took swimming lessons at age four and started swimming competitively at age nine. |
International Debut | |
| Year | 2006 |
| Competing for | Canada |
| Tournament | Commonwealth Games |
| Location | Melbourne, VIC, AUS |
General Interest | |
| Other information | RETIREMENT He retired from competitive swimming in November 2016. "It is absolutely terrifying. It is something all athletes grapple with at some point. I've thought about it for a few years, and it is a little daunting, but for lack of a better term, it is time to bite the bullet." (saanichnews.com, 22 Nov 2016) SCHOOLS CHAMPION In September 2014 he signed up to be a 'Classroom Champion', designed to inspire young people to become involved in sport. His motivation came from personal experience. "I will always remember meeting Olympic champion Simon Whitfield when I was in elementary school, and am amazed by the lasting impression he had upon me in life, both in and out of sport." (swimswam.com, 11 Sep 2014) SHORT RECORD He briefly held the Olympic record during the 1500m freestyle heats at the 2008 Olympic Games only to have Australian Grant Hackett retake the record two heats later. His time was the fastest ever by a North American swimmer at that distance and was the first Olympic record to be held by a Canadian since 1992. (tsn.ca, 15 Aug 2008) NATIONAL FIRSTS In 2007 he became the first swimmer representing Canada to break the 15-minute barrier in the 1500m freestyle, recording a time of 14:59.02 at the French Open in Paris, France. In 2013 he won a silver medal in the 1500m freestyle at the World Championships in Barcelona, Spain, making him the first Canadian to win six medals at the world championships. (Swimming Canada, 15 Jul 2010; SportsDesk Online, 04 Aug 2013) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Coach |
| Languages | English |
General Interest | |
| Hero / Idol | Canadian triathlete Simon Whitfield. (swimswam.com, 11 Sep 2014) |