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| Human Interest | |
|---|---|
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | London Aquatic Club: London, ON, CAN |
Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Biology, Education - University of Nevada Las Vegas [UNLV]: Las Vegas, NV, USA |
General Interest | |
| Hobbies | Rock climbing, playing video games and cooking. (Swimming Canada, 16 Jul 2010) |
| Most influential person in career | His parents. (Swimming Canada, 16 Jul 2010) |
| Awards and honours | Named as the Canada West Universities Athletic Association's Rookie of the Year for 2005. (swimming.ca, 14 May 2008) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Paul Midgley |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He started swimming competitively in 1996 with the Langley Flippers Swim Club. |
International Debut | |
| Year | 2007 |
| Competing for | Canada |
| Tournament | Pan American Games |
| Location | Rio de Janeiro |
Further Personal Information | |
| Languages | English, French |
General Interest | |
| Other information | US COLLEGE A fellow member of the Alberta Marlin Aquatic Club in his hometown of Medicine Hat was already a University of Nevada Las Vegas [UNLV] student and informed him that the UNLV Rebels were looking to recruit another sprint swimmer. He took a trip to Las Vegas with a list of questions for head coach Jim Reitz and was reassured that his Olympic ambitions would not be disrupted because of UNLV's programme. Indeed Reitz allowed him to skip the 2008 National Collegiate Athletic Association [NCAA] Championships to swim in Canada's Olympic trials. (canada.com, 05 Apr 2008) RECORD ORCHESTRA In May 2000 he was part of the world's largest orchestra, playing the alto sax. The orchestra consisted of nearly 6,500 music students and musicians from the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. (unlvrebels.cstv.com, 10 May 2007; canadianencyclopedia.ca, 20 May 2008) EARLY DAYS He says his fixation with competing at the Olympic Games began in 1996 when a diver and a softball player, whose names he can't remember, spoke at his high school about how the students could realise their Olympic dreams. "It's been that long since I said 'I want to go to the Olympics'," he said. "Back then I was still a kid. I had no idea what that meant." (canada.com, 05 Apr 2008) VANCOUVER 2010 He acted as support for athletes during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver as part of a motivation tool by the Canadian Olympic Committee. (swimalberta.ca, 09 Feb 2010) |