MA News: Canada Announces its Swim Team for the 2007 Summer Universiade
May 24th, 2007
Brian Johns of the University of British Columbia and Audrey Lacroix of the Université de Montreal, two of Canada’s star performers at the world championships in March, headline the 33-member Canadian team announced Thursday by Swimming Canada for the Summer Universiade.
Brian Johns
Johns showed at the Melbourne worlds he is in full recovery mode from a serious shoulder injury that sidelined him for several months after the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. In Melbourne, he helped Canada to a bronze in the 4X200freestyle relay and also broke the Canadian record in the 200 individual medley en route to a fifth place finish. He is also slated to swim the 400 IM and 200 and 400 freestyles at the Summer Universiade. ‘’The Universiade is a complete rehearsal for next year’s Olympics,’’ said Pierre Lafontaine, national coach and CEO of Swimming Canada. ‘’It will be held at the same time of year in the same type of weather. There’ll be a training camp in Singapore just before the Games, which is exactly what we’ll do a year from now for Beijing.’’ There are 14 other swimmers from the UBC Dolphins on the team. For the men, Scott Dickens, Jordan Hartney, Matt Hawes, Matt Huang, Sandy Lockhart, Callum Ng and Darryl Rudolf. For the women, Kristen Bradley, Elizabeth Collins, Tara Ivanitz, Michelle Landry, Caitlin Meredith, Annamay Pierse and Kelly Stefanyshyn.
Audrey Lacroix
Lacroix, who posted a fifth place finish in Canadian record time at the worlds, is the top name on the women’s squad. Lacroix also has a busy schedule in Bangkok with 100 fly and 100 and 200 freestyles on her plate for the Games. ‘’The swimming competition at the Summer Universiade has grown in stature,’’ said Lafontaine. ‘’It will be even more competitive this year because everyone wants to go there to prepare for the Olympics.’’ The other women’s team members are Michelle Laprade of Université de Montreal, Jennifer Carroll of the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivieres, Chanelle Charron-Watson of Université Laval in Quebec City, MacKenzie Downing of the University of Victoria, Elizabeth Hendrick and Seanna Mitchell of the University of Calgary and Elizabeth Wycliffe of Kingston, Ont., who studies at the University of Texas. The other men’s team members are Joe Bartoch of London, Ont., who studies at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas; Ray Betuzzi, Chad Hankewich, Chad Murray and Joel Greenshields, all of the University of Calgary, Jonathan Blouin of CEGEP François-Xavier Garneau in Quebec City, Richard Hortness of Medicine Hat, Alta., also based at UNLV, Kier Maitland of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Ryan Tomicic of McGill University in Montreal and Desmond Strelzow of the University of Victoria. ‘’This is another great competitive opportunity for our young swimmers,’’ said Lafontaine. ‘’Along with the worlds and Pan Am Games it means more than 75 of our swimmers will have had a major national team experience a year before the Olympics.’’
