Heads up, Cranbrook—two Olympians are coming to town.
Scott Dickens and Brent Hayden have accepted invitations from the Triton Swim Club and will come up to the Key City this weekend to do some sessions in the water with the club at the Aquatic Centre inside Western Financial Place.
Dickens competed in the 2004 and 2012 Summer Olympics and won two gold medals at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
Hayden captured a bronze medal in London at the 2012 Summer Olympics and is a Canadian record-holder in the 50, 100 and 200-metre freestyle. Hayden is also a former world champion in the 100-metre freestyle.
Dave Chisholm, who coaches with the Triton Swim Club, said getting the two Olympians to come out to Cranbrook was as simple as sending an invite.
“We just asked them, they said they’d come,” said Chisholm. “We’ve been working on getting someone here for a year now but because of the Olympics and everything, no one was available.
“We tried to get somebody but then we got both, so we said, ‘OK, let’s have both’.”
The two mentors will take to the water in two separate sessions on Saturday and Sunday, with roughly 30 athletes attending each one.
“We wanted to do something for our swimmers and the swimmers in the region, get them motivated a bit,” said Chisholm.
The sessions are closed, but the Tritons opened up spots to other clubs in the region after filling all the available space with their own athletes.
“We’ve got some coming from Fernie, Columbia Valley, Invermere, Radium and possibly some from Nelson,” said Chisholm.
“It all came together really quick, because we found out just under a month ago.”
Needless to say, his athletes are pretty stoked on getting the chance to get some tips straight from their Olympic heroes.
“They’re excited, and so are the parents,” Chisholm continued.
“Scott Dickens is a breaststroke specialist and Brent Hayden is a freestyle specialist, so I’m hoping they’ll work on those two strokes and give them some hints.
“Also, what it takes to an Olympian, and to be a swimmer at that level.”
The Triton Swim Club also returned from a successful meet in Canmore this past weekend, where ten local swimmers put in some excellent times.
The local athletes went up against roughly 100 other competitors for the Subway Rockies Invitational meet, as swimmers from 6 to 17 years of age took to the water.
Results:
Jordan Adams - 1st - 25m Butterfly; 4th - 25 Backstroke
Madison Adams - 1st - 100 Freestyle, 100 Breaststroke and 50 Butterfly; 2nd - 50 Backstroke and 100 Backstroke
Shelby Lehmann - 1st - 50 Backstroke, 100 Individual Medley, 100 Backstroke, 50 Freestyle; 2nd - 100 Breaststroke
Rhys Marlatt - 1st - 50 Breaststroke, 50 Butterfly, 100 Backstroke; 2nd - 100 Freestyle, 50 Freestyle
Chloe Mayes - 1st - 100 Breaststroke; 4th - 50 Breaststroke
Sydney McDonald - 1st - 25 Freestyle, 25 Backstroke; 2nd - 100 Individual Medley, 50 Freestyle; 4th - 100 Freestyle
Matthew Meuleman - 1st - 50 Backstroke; 3rd - 100 Individual Medley; 4th - 50 Breaststroke
Tyler Thorn - 1st - 50 Breaststroke, 100 Breaststroke, 50 Butterfly
Jayden White - 1st - 100 Freestyle, 50 Butterfly, 100 Backstroke, 50 Freestyle; 2nd - 100 Individual Medley