{"id":484829,"date":"2021-08-08T05:47:54","date_gmt":"2021-08-08T12:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=484829"},"modified":"2021-08-08T05:47:54","modified_gmt":"2021-08-08T12:47:54","slug":"by-any-measure-a-historically-successful-olympics-for-swimming-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/by-any-measure-a-historically-successful-olympics-for-swimming-canada\/","title":{"rendered":"By Any Measure, A Historically Successful Olympics for Swimming Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Any Measure, A Historically Successful Olympics for Swimming Canada<\/strong><\/p>\n

John Atkinson<\/strong> toggles between the long- and short-term perspectives.<\/p>\n

Three months ago, Atkinson and Swimming Canada were struggling with how to stage Olympic Trials<\/a> as a pernicious wave of COVID-19 cases washed over the country. Already out of the water for the longest stretch of any of the leading nations, the path to Tokyo seemed obstructed anew. As much as Atkinson\u2019s job was to not dim optimism, particularly around a women\u2019s program tipped for big things, it was hard at times to prevent doubt seeping in.<\/p>\n

But Atkinson weighed those concerns against what he felt when he took over as the high performance director in March 2013. Then, Canada had won just two medals at the most recent Games in 2012. One of the medalists, Brent Hayden,<\/strong> had retired before London\u2019s closing ceremonies. The last Canadian women\u2019s swimming medal was collecting dust, already 17 years old. Atkinson inherited a grand total of eight Canadians in the top eight of their events worldwide.<\/p>\n

\"Jul

Canada’s 400 free relay of, from left, Katerine Savard, Maggie MacNeil, Kayla Sanchez and (in the water) Penny Oleksiak after winning silver; Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY<\/p><\/div>\n

Through either lens, from the immediate obstacles of 2020 to the decade-long rebuild of the program, Swimming Canada\u2019s achievements at the Olympics were nothing short of a rousing success.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to see things progress annually and from year to year,\u201d Atkinson said Sunday from the mixed zone at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. \u201cThe strategic plan of Swimming Canada when I started was to be a top-six swimming nation. And you can split that up whichever way you want. The way that I\u2019ll split that up today is we\u2019re equal fourth on the medal table with six total medals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such a haul can be taken for granted from the external view, given the preponderance of college stars and World Championships medalists Canada has raised through the years. But winning just three combined medals in 2012 and 2008, on the heels of being shut out in Athens in 2004, six medals \u2013 one goal, three silver, two bronze \u2013 is a historically massive return. (And Atkinson would add four fourth-place finishes in Canadian record times, which he\u2019s just as pleased about.)<\/p>\n

There are so many reasons for Swimming Canada to be pleased with those results. The COVID-19 conditions in the country are one, for sure. But even once the pared-down Trials were conducted in June, surprises still cropped up. Taylor Ruck<\/strong> went from holding Canadian records in the 50 and 200 free to failing to qualify for the Games in either, her freestyle form evidently abandoning here. She didn\u2019t factor into the medals save for two prelims relay swims. Sydney Pickrem,<\/strong> an anticipated medal threat in three individual events, had to pull back due to an illness upon arrival in Japan<\/a>, swimming instead just one individual event and a gutsy medley relay leg for bronze.<\/p>\n

It speaks to the group\u2019s adaptability. As Atkinson puts it, any collection of 26 individuals will face unforeseen adversity on an international trip, pandemic or not. The mystery isn\u2019t if something will go wrong but what that something is. And then the challenge shifts to how you choose to cope with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been crazy,\u201d Pickrem said. \u201cI think emotions have been high, they\u2019ve been low. It\u2019s a long meet. It\u2019s always going to be like that, and you have to make sure you can handle it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you would\u2019ve asked me two weeks ago what did I envision my Olympics, I would\u2019ve said I\u2019d do three individuals. Instead, I did one individual and two relays. And I think I got to embrace a side of swimming that I didn\u2019t necessarily know I was going to get at these Olympic Games. I got to be part of a team more than I could\u2019ve asked for.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Canadian adaptability is rooted in its team dynamic. It starts with exemplary leaders at the top, whether it\u2019s Penny Oleksiak <\/strong>leading by her performances in the water<\/a> (and her perspective out of it<\/a>), Kylie Masse<\/strong> being the all-around standard-bearer<\/a> or Pickrem providing constant (and blindingly honest<\/a>) vocal support. Even younger swimmers like Maggie MacNeil,<\/strong> who grabbed the country\u2019s gold medal via the 100 butterfly<\/a>, have the seasoning of multiple NCAA and World Championships required to perform to their best on the Olympic stage.<\/p>\n

The group has grown closer over the last year because of the pandemic closures all but requiring them to flock to the Toronto High Performance Centre to train, and it paid dividends in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

Masse, in particular, is the primary leader in that regard, as coach Ben Titley<\/strong> put in no uncertain terms.<\/p>\n

\u201cKylie Masse is possibly the greatest human being I\u2019ve ever coached,\u201d the veteran coach said. \u201cYou\u2019ll see it in her smile, you\u2019ll see it in her eyes, you\u2019ll see it in the way that she acts, probably with you, definitely with her friends, definitely with volunteers and staff like that around. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is probably the nicest athlete I\u2019ve coached in a personal respect. Most athletes have a bit of an edge to them, and they do need that. She has a steeliness about her when it\u2019s a competitive environment. Any time outside of that, she\u2019s a phenomenal young woman and she\u2019s going to be successful in whatever she chooses to do in life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jul

Maggie MacNeil off the block during the heats of the women’s 100 butterfly; Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Network<\/p><\/div>\n

The team\u2019s excellence is magnified by its place in the greater Canadian effort in Tokyo. Not only were all six swimming medals taken home by women, but the first 11 medals that Canada won in all sports belonged to women<\/a>. Those athletes have gotten the attention back home to match, and it offers a poignant return on investment in girls and women in sports.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s so empowering and inspiring to be surrounded by so many successful and dedicated athletes,\u201d Masse said. \u201cBut to have them all be female right now, it\u2019s so empowering and so special, and I think hopefully it\u2019s inspiration to younger kids in sport, and not even just sport but in all aspects of their lives, that they can achieve whatever they want as long as they work hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just super grateful to have these girls and have the training group that we have, have the staff that we have, have the support in Canada that we have,\u201d Oleksiak said. \u201c \u2026 It takes off a little bit of pressure, lets you focus on your racing and having these girls and knowing that I have the best girls in the world to race with, I pretty much have a medal in the back of my mind the whole race. I\u2019m racing with three of the best swimmers in the world so why should I worry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whichever way you phrase the hypotheticals to Atkinson, his answer is the same. If you told him, on his first day on the job in 2013, that eight years on, Swimming Canada would be a top-five swimming nation on the medal count, he would\u2019ve taken it.<\/p>\n

Had you presented him the same bargain in May, he again would\u2019ve signed the deal without hesitation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really proud of the team, really proud of the athletes, really proud of the coaches and the team behind the team, the support staff that have done a great job in preparing them to be here and do their best,\u201d Atkinson said.<\/p>\n

Not just their best now, but a best that stacks up favorably against anything the program has ever produced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Any Measure, A Historically Successful Olympics for Swimming Canada John Atkinson toggles between the long- and short-term perspectives. Three months ago, Atkinson and Swimming Canada were struggling with how<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8367,"featured_media":484830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,122077],"tags":[34385,34895,25052,26270,68469,53577,25053,28748,32614,7419],"class_list":["post-484829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-americas","tag-2020-tokyo-olympic-games","tag-ben-titley","tag-john-atkinson","tag-kylie-masse","tag-maggie-macneil","tag-penny-oleksiak","tag-swimming-canada","tag-sydney-pickrem","tag-taylor-ruck","tag-tokyo-olympics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nBy Any Measure, A Historically Successful Olympics for Swimming Canada<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Any Measure, A Historically Successful Olympics for Swimming Canada John Atkinson toggles between the long- and short-term perspectives.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/by-any-measure-a-historically-successful-olympics-for-swimming-canada\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"By Any Measure, A Historically Successful Olympics for Swimming Canada\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Any Measure, A Historically Successful Olympics for Swimming Canada John Atkinson toggles between the long- and short-term perspectives.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/by-any-measure-a-historically-successful-olympics-for-swimming-canada\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-08T12:47:54+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/USATSI_16490210_168395548_lowres.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2274\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1536\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matthew De George - 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