To her students, Toronto teacher Liz Warden is not a former Varsity Blues star swimming athlete, but a passionate educator. Yet, at their age, Warden had already begun working towards an athletic career that would include multiple awards, a perfect Ontario University Athletics (OUA) record, and a berth at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Warden cannot remember a time when she was not swimming; her mother was a swim instructor, so she learned to swim at a young age. Warden first competed when she was only six years old.
Swimming was “a way of life,” says Warden.
In particular, one event cemented her commitment to the sport.
“When I was 15, I made the 8 Nation Youth National Tour team that travelled to Dortmund, Germany where Canada competed against 7 other countries. I won 2 gold medals in both 200 and 400 IM [individual medley] swims,” she describes, adding, “Looking back, I suppose this was a pivotal point in my swimming career. I felt encouraged and motivated to continue to swim and win at an international level.”
Warden chose to attend U of T because she wanted to both stay in Canada and be coached by Byron MacDonald, who had a reputation for coaching swimmers to international success. Warden mostly competed in IM races with the Blues, but also swam other races when the team needed her to.
“Although the women’s team never won a CIS title while I competed for them, we won several OUA titles of which I am very proud to have been a part of,” says Warden.
“As for myself, I never lost an OUA race over my entire career at U of T, and I consecutively won 5 straight CIS titles in the women’s 400 IM. Also, I was the recipient of the Howard Mackie Award or Canadian University Athlete of the year for 2002,” she adds.
Despite her many awards, Warden’s favorite moments on the team involved her fellow swimmers and the camaraderie that she enjoyed with the Blues.
“I guess the thing I remember most is arriving on the pool deck at 5:45 on most mornings [and] joining my teammates for another grueling training session. Although we sometimes didn’t want to be there, we would dive into the pool, each with our own goals — some wanted to make the Olympics, others wanted to qualify for their first CIS’s, while others were hoping to earn a spot on the OUA team,” she says.
“No matter what, we were there together pushing and helping each other every step of the way. We shared a lot of laughs in the process which always made things easier and more fun,” she adds.
In addition to being a decorated member of the Varsity Blues, Warden competed with the Canadian women’s team at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics. While she and the team did not perform as well as they had hoped, it was an experience that Warden had worked hard for, and one she will always treasure.
“I guess you could say that the process of my making the Olympic team was 20 years in the making. I started competitive swimming at the age of 6 and did not make the Olympics until I was 26,” says Warden.
“I competed in 3 Olympic Trials where I had a legitimate shot at qualifying for the Olympics and only succeeded the third time. It took many years of hard work,” she adds.
Soon to be a mother of three, Warden is not as involved in swimming as she once was. Although her time with the Blues is over, Warden has many good memories of her time swimming for U of T.
“I mostly miss the camaraderie and the dynamic of being part of a team. As strange as it may sound, I also sort of miss the hard workouts and pushing my body to the limits on a daily basis — sometimes… not always,” says Warden.
