A White Rock native and 2016 Olympic hopeful was honoured by city council this week.
The accomplishments of 24-year-old swimmer Hilary Caldwell were recognized by Mayor Wayne Baldwin Monday, who, after a short presentation highlighting Caldwell’s many wins, presented her parents Gillian and Chalmers with a gift from the city.
Caldwell – who competed in the 200-m backstroke at the London Olympic Games in 2012 – has earned numerous medals throughout her swimming career, which started in 1997 with the Pacific Seawolves.
She won bronze in 2013 at the FINA World Championships – Canada’s first medallist in the sport since 1978 – breaking Canada’s records for the swim. In 2014, she won bronze at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and most recently she took home the gold at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, setting a new games record with her time of 2:08.22.
Baldwin noted Caldwell couldn’t attend Monday’s presentation as she was training for Olympic time-trials in April, with the hopes of qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, set for next August.
“No matter what happens, we have a lot of pride in her and her accomplishments, and she is certainly representing our community extremely well,” Baldwin said.