U of T will be well represented at the 2004 Summer Olympics held in Athens, starting August 13. Former Varsity Blue and Canadian university athlete of the year Liz Warden, and current Varsity Blue Terrance Haynes have qualified for a spot in the pool in the upcoming games.
Warden, a Toronto native, qualified for Athens by snagging the gold medal with an outstanding time of 4:42.62 in the four hundred metre individual medley. Liz’s hard work and dedication allowed her to beat the competition by seven seconds, and also beat her personal best time by three seconds.
Swimming Head Coach Byron Macdonald commented on Warden’s recipe for success: “her choice to work extra hard and get that extra step,” which allowed her to qualify for Team Canada. “Over the eight years of coaching Liz, she has matured in terms of confidence, but has always remained optimistic and I think all athletes grow and learn so much about themselves when presented with the trials and tribulations of international competition.”
Along with Warden, Terrance Haynes, who just finished his first year at U of T, also qualified for Athens by placing first in the 50 metre freestyle at the Caribbean Islands Swimming Championship with a time of 23.58. Haynes, who is one of two men from Barbados on the team, is enrolled in U of T’s engineering program.
“I love to have people from diverse backgrounds on the team so everyone can learn from them,” said Macdonald. “It is great to have someone [from] far away to share life experiences with the team. It helps [the team] grow.”
Macdonald views having Warden and Haynes represent U of T in Athens as a positive for the school. He believes that this will help attract the world’s best young swimmers to the U of T swimming program.
“The very best swimmers from around the country will now consider U of T as a viable option to further their swimming and academic careers,” he speculated. “With U of T now attracting the top two men and the top two female recruits, [this] has allowed swimming to be the program of the day.”
The 2004 Olympic summer games run from August 13- 29 in Athens, Greece.
