Fun for Fernie swimmers at BC Games

Contributed by Angie Abdou

Elk Valley Dolphins Swim Club

Super athlete Maddox Johnson has had an unusually busy year so when he got asked to be on the Zone 1 swim team for BC games, he said no. When he got asked to be on the Zone 1 biking team, he also said no. “When he got asked the third time,” said Maddox’s mom, “we thought we’d better say yes.”

Good thing they did. Maddox Johnson came home from the BC Games with three medals: gold in duathlon (run, bike, run), silver in triathlon (swim, bike, run), and silver in the sprint triathlon. He had the most fun in the aquathon (run, swim, run), but without his superpower of biking, he was unable to pull into the medals in that race. Maddox competed 5 events over the 3-day competition. He describes the experience as “grueling but fun.”

Four Elk Valley Dolphins represented Fernie in the swimming events. Competing against the big city athletes who put in almost double the training time, the Fernie swimmers were not able to make the finals. They did, though, have a great weekend of swimming, putting in 17 personal best times in their combined 20 swims.

Ava Pollock performed best in the 200 IM where she took off 6 seconds. Abbi Wannamaker also performed particularly well in the 200 IM, dropping 5 seconds. Wannamaker also had a great 200 free, taking off 3 seconds and chasing down her competitors for an exciting come-from-behind win in her heat. Katherine Hafke took off a whopping 29 seconds in her 200 IM. She also took 2 seconds in her 50 back to break the 40 second mark for the first time. Adam Hayden was the one Fernie swimmer to do 5 out of 5 personal best swims, taking nearly 6 seconds off in his 100 breast and 100 back and 9 seconds in his 200 IM.

Adam Hayden swam for two A relays earning a 5th place ribbon in the 200 free relay and 7th in the 200 medley relay. Katherine Hafke also represented Zone 1 on two A relays with a 7th place ribbon in the 200 medley relay and a 6th in the 200 free relay.

All swimmers came back smiling and full of stories about their first time making a regional team. The BC Summer Games is an experience they will remember forever.

Elk Valley Dolphins will now take a summer break while the Fernie Aquatic Centre closes for August. The team will start back up in September. Swimmers interested can contact registrar@evdsc.com

Dolphins who are keen to be more competitive on the big stage will be happy to learn that the Elk Valley Dolphins’ coaching team has plans to significantly increase pool training time for the 2022-23 season.

READ MORE: Elk Valley Dolphins win medals at provincials