Local swimmers from the Pacific Sea Wolves Swim Club got their new season off to a great start last weekend in Coquitlam, with members returning home with plenty of medals and personal-best times.
Leading the way among the medal-winners was Edwin Zhao – who was a frequent podium-finisher last season, too. Last weekend, in what PSW coach Brad Dingey called “our first big competition of the season” Zhao struck gold in four freestyle disciplines – the 100-, 200-, 400- and 1,500-m events.
Alex Blaskovich, meanwhile, won three gold medals – in 400- and 1,500-m free, plus 200-m butterfly – while also clocking five personal-best times; Lydia Doyon won gold in the 400-m free and silver in the 800, while Catherine Grimme found the podium four times, highlighted by a gold-medal in the 200-m back.
Laikin Greffard was first in the 100-m fly and silver in the 200-m individual medley, while Stephanie Lee had 11 personal best and five medals – two of them gold. Horace Liu won a pair of silver medals, Isabelle Lei had three top-three swims, and Bailey Mothe won gold in the 400- and 800-m free swims, as well as the 200-m backstroke.
Other medallists included Katherine Toy (three medals), Kevin McDonough, David Zhang and Alex Wang (two medals apiece), Isabella Koch (one gold), Darian Fry (one silver), Ariana Aktary (one silver), and Forrest Xie (one bronze).