The UBC Thunderbirds are set to host over 800 swimmers from 80 different teams across North America including a number of world class athletes at the 56th Annual Mel Zajac Jr. International Swim Meet from May 24-26.<\/p>\n
Fans in Metro Vancouver will have the opportunity to see some of the biggest names in Canadian swimming as well as emerging stars from across Canada and the United States as they compete at the state of the art UBC Aquatic Centre.<\/p>\n
Feature athletes attending include the UBC Thunderbirds very own rising international stars and 2019 U SPORTS national swimming champions Marcus Thormeyer, Alex Pratt<\/strong> and Emily Overholt<\/strong> who are all looking to enjoy the friendly waters of their home pool. Overholt, a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, is coming off a standout season that culminated in her earning four gold medals while also setting four meet records en route to helping the T-Birds women\u2019s swimming program capture a seventh U SPORTS national title in the last eight years this past February at the UBC Aquatic Centre.<\/p>\n Thormeyer followed up his 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medal win with a dominant season that saw him earn the U SPORTS male swimmer of the year. Thormeyer had a sublime showing, earning seven gold medals (four individual and three relay) while also setting six meet records in leading the Thunderbirds men\u2019s team to a fourth national title in the last five years. Fellow T-Bird Alex Pratt was named Canada West and U SPORTS male rookie of the year finishing with two individual medals and three U SPORTS records with UBC relay teams.<\/p>\n