AUSTIN, Texas, January 16. FRESH from breaking five national age group records last month \u2013 all at one meet \u2013 Evan White of Oakville, Ont., is among 28 Canadians scheduled to compete at the second stop on the U.S. Grand Prix swimming circuit this Friday to Sunday in Austin, Tex.<\/p>\n
White has emerged as one of the most talented 17-year-old Canadian swimmers in many years. He produced numerous outstanding performances in 2013 including his December finale at the Thunderbolt Junior International in Portland, Oregon.<\/p>\n
At that meet, White broke age group national marks in the 100-metre butterfly, 200-m butterfly and 200-m breaststroke along with contributing to two relay marks. That augurs well for the individual medley specialist heading into 2014.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely feel I have a shot at making the senior national team this year,\u201d said White, who is tuning up for the 2014 Canadian Swimming Trials set for April 2-5 in Victoria. Those trials will select teams for Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s my big goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sean Baker, who coaches White at the Oakville Aquatic Club, says he isn\u2019t surprised at his pupil\u2019s success at such a young age. He credits hard work and maturity.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is one of the most reliable and dependable swimmers I\u2019ve coached,\u201d said Baker. \u201cHe puts his nose to the grindstone every day. It\u2019s been a three-year process to build his confidence in different areas and putting him in position to win. He\u2019s skyrocketed since making his first junior team in 2011.\u201d<\/p>\n
This weekend\u2019s meet in Austin will be a great opportunity to face a powerful international field.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe meet will be a good indication for our Canadian coaches and athletes to see how they are going in their preparation and build up to the trials following a solid block of training,\u201d said Swimming Canada High Performance Director John Atkinson.<\/p>\n
Being in the midst of some hard training, results aren\u2019t the priority but still Baker feels White can make some noise.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more he can be surrounded by great swimmers, the more he\u2019ll want to excel in that environment,\u201d said Baker. \u201cWe\u2019re looking for solid performances this weekend, with good splits. Being an IM swimmer, he’ll swim a lot of events and gain more confidence in all the strokes.\u201d<\/p>\n
White is one of many Canadians expected at the meet. Others include 2013 national team members Victoria Poon, Sandrine Mainville and Audrey Lacroix from Montreal, Will Brothers, Eric Hedlin, Hilary Caldwell and Alec Page from Victoria, as well as Noemie Thomas, Luke Peddie, Coleman Allen, Tera Van Beilen and Savannah King from Vancouver.<\/p>\n
Martha McCabe of Toronto was scheduled to compete but has withdrawn due to a small stress fracture on her clavicle. She is expected to make a full recovery and compete at Canadian Swim Trials in April but will be limited in training for several weeks. McCabe is staying in Toronto to continue her rehab program before joining her National Swim Centre teammates for training camp in Florida next week on a modified training schedule.<\/p>\n
The above article is a unedited press release submitted to Swimming World. To reach our audience, contact us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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