Corner Brook -
It's a task in itself just to qualify for an international swim meet like the Toronto, Ont. edition of the Canada Cup series.
Corner Brook Rapids swimmers Nick Hogan and Theoren Goosney, both 17, are actually the first two age-groupers from the city to ever make the cut. In fact, since it's such a rarity, the Rapids swim club never noticed the two standouts even qualified until a parent brought it to their attention a few weeks back. While neither swimmer achieved the necessary senior national time, this competition allowed for a two per cent overflow of that, which is how they punched their ticket to the first of three Canada Cup series events on the calendar thanks to their performances at the recent Canada Games.
Entering a meet that has seen the likes of Michael Phelps, Annamay Pierse, Brent Hayden and more over the years, neither Hogan, Goosney or the Rapids coaches expect medal-winning performances at the Etobicoke Olympian pool in Toronto this weekend, but they still certainly want to make an impression.
"It's a big meet with about 100 in each event," said coach Bruce Hamlyn. "It's the first time they've competed at this level. We didn't even have the event on our radar because nobody has ever really qualified, so you don't really watch for it."
Both swimmers will participate in five different events, with Goosney mixing it up between freestyle and individual medley, while Hogan will stick to all freestyle swims.
"It should be a great experience for them," said Hamlyn. "It's just like any sport ... you rise to the level of your competition. If you're going to up your game, the only way you'll do it is at these kind of events.
"To be honest, I expect a couple of provincial records and I expect them to make senior national time," he added. "Those are the two main things."
One factor that may weigh in their favour is the lack of downtime the two swimmers have had over the last 15 months.
"They went to Canada Games last summer and went right through with only about a three-week break in total over that time," Hamlyn said. "For that reason they should do better than usual because they will be peaking, where others really wouldn't. Theoren and Nick just need to feed off each other because right now they're the two best age-groupers in the province and it's because they work so hard in practice. It's amazing to watch."
Also amazing - actually qualifying for the competition at all, at least according to Goosney.
"It's pretty sweet, I didn't even know until about two or three weeks ago," he said. "My dad told me he had seen we qualified and I had no idea."
Qualifying via the two per cent loophole outside of the senior national time has provided an incentive for both.
"Me and Nick want to try to get the real senior national time," said Goosney. "Oh my God, we're so close to getting it. We've been waiting to get it since September, so for me and him, senior national time is the key."
While Hogan is hoping for the same things Goosney is, he's also looking forward to taking in the surroundings.
"We're hopefully going to see some really fast swimmers there ... definitely some Olympians from Canada," he said. "Also we're hoping to improve on our own personal bests. We'll definitely be swimming really fast because we'll be thrown into the pool with all these other fast guys."
The only other Newfoundlander present will be a third-year university student from St. John's named David Forbes, which makes Goosney and Hogan's feat all the more impressive and certainly makes the Corner Brook Rapids swim program look all the better as well.
"The boys are role models for little kids," said Hamlyn. "We're hoping this will raise the profile of the club. We do have a continuous intake of swimmers and the ideal candidates are anywhere from 8-12 years old with Level 5 swimming or if they can swim the length of the pool. Theoren didn't start swimming until he was 12 and Nick was about 9."
They'll arrive in Toronto today to train and then take it easy in the evening before competition starts on Friday.
"Realistically, I don't expect them to make finals, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them get into the top 20," said Hamlyn, noting both boys will put themselves in the spotlight for potential scholarships from the handful of universities that offer them for swimming. "Fortunately both are smart enough to also qualify for academic scholarships, but swimming scholarships would just shore things up for them."
