In front of a sold-out crowd Sunday night at the AC, the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds emerged victorious, with both their men’s and women’s teams taking home a seventh-straight Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) swimming championship title.
CIS hosts, the Varsity Blues, finished fourth overall in the men’s competition, while the women’s team secured an impressive third-place finish, and a spot on the podium.
Over the course of the three-day meet, a total of six CIS records were broken, most notably by the University of Calgary’s Erin Gammel. Despite her Wednesday-night return from Australia and Olympic training camp, Gammel not only won gold in the 50m backstroke, but also broke her own CIS record during Friday morning’s preliminaries, with a swim of 28.05 seconds. “I can’t believe how well I swam,” commented Gammel after her win, “considering it still feels like I’m on Australian time.”
Finishing the meet with three gold medals and two CIS records, Gammel was again rewarded during the closing ceremonies with the distinction of female swimmer of the year. Top male honours went to teammate Chad Murray, also of the Calgary Dinos, who earned a total of five gold medals in the 50m butterfly, the 200m butterfly, the 200m individual medley, the 400m individual medley, and the 4 x 200m men’s relay.
Asked to comment on his achievement, Murray stated, “Even though I won four gold medals in the first two days, I didn’t feel like I swam my best. But Sunday, I was really pleased with the way I performed.”
After a frustrating disqualification on Saturday, U of T’s Jen Porenta returned on Sunday to place second in the 100m freestyle, with a time of 56.02 seconds and was named 2004 CIS rookie of the year. “Jen didn’t have the best meet of her life,” said Blues coach Linda Kiefer, “but after that slip, she came back and swam through adversity.” UBC’s Desmond Strelzow was awarded male rookie of the year, after his first CIS gold medal finish in the 200m backstroke.
The surprise performance of the weekend came on Sunday night, with fifth-year Varsity Blues captain, Dave Ling, capturing a silver medal in the men’s 1500m freestyle, behind Calgary’s Richard Cormack. Seeded sixth going into the race, Ling’s time of 15:45.12 not only ensured him a place on the podium, but was also widely regarded as the upset of the meet.
The CIS championships also witnessed the breaking of two paralympic world records by the University of Victoria’s Paralympian Stephanie Dixon. A Toronto native, Dixon qualified for the CIS championship as an able-bodied swimmer and went on to break two paralympic world records within two days, earning her the privilege of being recognized as an honourary All-Canadian. During Friday morning’s preliminaries, Dixon swam the 400m individual medley in 5:32.38 minutes, shaving five seconds off of the previous world record. By Saturday night, she had scored another record by completing the 100m backstroke in a time of 1:08.95.
One notable characteristic of the meet was the consistent crowd of fans it drew over the three nights. The enthusiasm of the audience was a testament to the quality of both the athleticism of the swimmers, and the overall organization of the event. According to Kay Dawkins, convenor of the 2004 CIS championship, the event was a success both in and out of the pool. “To echo [Coach] Byron MacDonald, this was a huge team effort; we really raised the bar with this meet,” commented Dawkins. “The athletes performed at their peak, and that’s what it’s all about-the athletes.”
In attendance during the closing ceremonies were federal NDP leader Jack Layton, and wife Councillor Olivia Chow, themselves members of the Athletic Centre. A former national record holder for the McGill Redmen, Layton came to show his support for university athletics in Canada, stating that “it’s time we made a big splash for sports and swimming in this country.”
