Samantha Corea: A Canadian Standout Artfully Rising Up

corea-wall
Photo Courtesy: Swimming Canada

By Nicole Cassou, Swimming World College Intern

As an 8-year-old, Samantha Corea had a choice. Typically, choices made at this age aren’t very consequential, but for a young Corea, choosing swimming over field hockey and dance was certainly a pivotal moment in her life.

Anyone who watches the University of Denver senior cut through the water with such powerful and precise strokes would have a hard time picturing her anywhere but the pool.

Fairytale Finish

Corea’s senior season was the ultimate culmination of an impressive collegiate career.

“As a coach, you always want to see people improve every year, and see your seniors finish on a high note,” Denver head coach Brian Schrader said. “And what was fun about Sam Corea’s career is that she did, and still has more to accomplish.”

corea-fly

Photo Courtesy: Ross Edfort

At the 2015 NCAA Championships, Corea placed second with a time of 50.86 in the 100-yard butterfly to Louisville’s Kelsi Worell, who set a new American record with a time of 49.81. She then went on to place third in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:50.87, three seconds behind Olympic gold-medalist and world record holder, Missy Franklin of Cal.

“It was really exciting to be racing such a great group of girls,” Corea said. “The energy at NCAAs is unparalleled to any other meet that I’ve ever been to.”

Only a week-and-a-half after competing at NCAAs, the Vancouver native had to try to recreate that energy to swim at Canadian Nationals. Corea continued her streak by winning the 50-meter butterfly with a time of 26.29, a FINA A cut, and an event record.

The following night, she placed third in the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 58.83, a 2.39 second drop from her lifetime best.

Corea’s stellar performance at these two high-profile meets in such close proximity to each other, one being short-course, and the next long-course is a testament to her mental toughness and competitive drive.

“Sam is the most intense competitor I’ve seen in my swimming career,” DU teammate Drew Matthews said. “She has a fierce focus and drive that successfully separates her from the competition.”

International Stage

The next major meet Corea has her sights set on is the World University Games, which will be held in South Korea July 3 to July 14, where she will be representing Team Canada. Corea is “crazy excited,” and has some exciting goals for the meet as well.

“The ultimate goal is always to get on the podium, whether it be in a relay or individually,” she said. “I’m feeling pretty good this year so that would be the top goal, and the second goal is always to have fun and enjoy the meet.”

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Photo Courtesy: Sam Corea

While the Games aren’t Corea’s first big international meet (she competed in the 2011 Pan American Games), it is clear that this level of competition is more meaningful to her this time around.

“World University Games holds more weight for me at this stage of my life just because I don’t think I was very ready for the Pan American Games,” she said. “So this definitely feels a lot more important to me than the other meet did.”

Renaissance Woman

But before embarking on her journey to South Korea and her career as a professional swimmer, Corea has just one more milestone to go; graduation. As a three-time All-American, Corea will graduate DU with eight school records, the most decorated swimmer of school history.

However, her legacy at DU goes far beyond athletics. A double major in Studio Art and English, Corea has a 3.71 grade point average, and received a postgraduate NCAA scholarship worth $7,500, a grant that is given to only 60 NCAA postgraduates.

“She really embodies and supports the mission here at DU—be a great student and a great athlete,” Schrader said.

After taking next year off to focus on swimming for Team Canada’s High Performance Program, and working on her portfolio, Corea intends to attend graduate school for a Master of Fine Arts in Photography in the fall of 2016.

As both a professional swimmer and artist, Corea is poised for success in 2016. She is well positioned to compete for a spot on the Canadian Olympic team, and to get accepted by Emily Carr University, a prestigious art school at the top of Corea’s list for graduate programs.

Careers as illustrious as Corea’s require a certain level of commitment and work ethic that are often as rare as the milestones these athletes achieve.

“I have seen her dedicate herself to the sport of swimming and achieve goals that most only dream about,” Denver associate head coach Tyson Hurst said. “A coach can give an athlete the tools to improve, but it is the athlete that must sacrifice what others aren’t willing to in order to achieve her level of success.”

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Bill Bell
Bill Bell
8 years ago

She has to be one of the most successful — if not THE mostbsuccessful — mid- major collegiate swimmer of all- time. And all this while training full time at mile- high altitude!

Good luck in Korea, Sam, and bring home the gold. You’re a great swimmer and can even greater person.

Oh and br sure to NOT miss the plane to Rio next summer. Understand the waters are really quite lovely in Brazil come August.

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