The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The level of Olympic swimming competition has been extraordinary at the 2008 Games and as records of all types continue to shatter, several Canadian swimmers have found success. Mike Brown, of Perth, Ont., swam a tremendous race in the 200 metre breaststroke semifinal. He separated himself from the others in his heat to finish first, and second overall behind Josuke Kitajima of Japan who holds the world record. ÒIt felt great from the get go,Ó Brown said. ÒI was powerful throughout my race and I was strong during my last 50 metres. To be ranked second in the finals is very exciting.Ó Julia Wilkinson, who at age 21 is just coming into her own, helped illustrate the potentially bright future of Canadian swimming. In her second finals appearance in Beijing, Wilkinson finished seventh in 200 metre individual medley. Several swimmers advanced to semifinal races. EdmontonÕs Annamay Pierse was second in her 200 metre breaststroke heat in a time of 2:25.01. Both Keith Beavers (London, Ont.) and Tobias Oriwol (Toronto) reached the semifinals for 200 metre backstroke. In 100 metre freestyle, CalgaryÕs Erica Morningstar swam fast enough to reach the semifinal. Teammate Wilkinson also swam this race, tying a German for 16th place, meaning she will have to defeat Petra Dallmann in a Òswim-offÓ to reach the semifinal. ÒMy swim felt great and relaxed,Ó said Pierse. ÒI concentrated on my own race and I felt in control all the way through. I didnÕt push my last 50 to much so I have lots more in the tank.Ó Brent Hayden, of Mission, B.C., wasnÕt able to continue his fine form in Beijing as the world champion failed to reach the 100 metre freestyle final. The two semifinals on Wednesday featured a new world record, then another shortly thereafter. In the menÕs 4x200 metre freestyle final, Hayden, Colin Russell, Brian Johns, and Andrew Hurd finished two notches off the podium in fifth spot, despite shaving two seconds off the Canadian record. Outside on the diamond, Canada secured two victories on day five. First the menÕs baseball team defeated China 10-0. Chris Begg (Uxbridge, Ont.) struck out nine batters over six-plus innings and the team had 10 hits in total. ÒThis was ChinaÕs first international game, and they had some players that had the jitters,Ó said manager Terry Puhl. ÒWe had a lot of honour in this game, but we were here to win and we played well.Ó Later in the day, the womenÕs softball team ran its record to 2-0 with a 9-2 win over the Netherlands. In synchronized diving, Alexandre Despatie of Laval, Que. and Arturo Miranda of Edmonton finished fifth in the final of 3 metre springboard. Throughout their six dives, the duo had a shot at a bronze but fell about six points shy of the podium. Despatie will get another shot on the 3 metre when he goes toe to toe with strong Chinese divers starting Aug. 18. Three archers were in action Wednesday. Jason Lyon of Winnipeg impressively won his two matches 111-106 and 113-107 to advance to the quarter-finals. His teammate Crispin Duenas of North York, Ont. lost a shootout in the round of 16, narrowly missing the quarter-finals. John David Burnes of Toronto lost to American Brady Ellison in the round of 32 Ð though Lyon beat Ellison later. ÒEverything came together today,Ó said Lyon. ÒI was really relaxed and focused and was feeling strong and positive. IÕm thrilled to be advancing and plan to bring the same positive energy and focus to the next round.Ó
