#TBT

Hey Everyone,

Today is a great day to have a Throwback to the day that changed my life, and I guess the best way to explain why this specific day was a pivotal moment, is to start from the beginning.

I started synchro at the age of 8.  I was always very competitive as a child and even at that early stage of my life, I knew I wanted to be an Olympian.  Now let me tell you right now, I was not a talented young synchro swimmer… I had a floatable nose clip that would fall off every time I jumped in the pool, causing me to stop the routine and swim around like a chicken with its head cut off…. My coaches loved it when I finally lost that one!!  I never really realized what this sport entailed until I was paired with this girl.

I received a duet with the person who would become my best friend and life long duet partner.  We immediately had chemistry and even though we were very opposite swimmers, we fit perfectly.  We moved through the ranks together and eventually made our way to the top teams in Calgary.  Both of us had very specific goals for ourselves and each other.  Of course we were competitors in individual events, but as soon as we were together, it was all business!

This girl has to be the calmest competitor I have ever had the pleasure of swimming with.  I was always the one who needed to be in my own little bubble (silently panicking), while she was dancing around and laughing before we walked out for our performance.  It was our balance scale.  She pumped me up and my paranoia made sure we were on the same page.  Through the years we grew together, learnt together, and basically lived together at the pool!

Years later, we were on the right path to becoming National Champions in Calgary, in front of our home crowd.  A slight obstacle came at us like a wall, when I received my concussions.  It was definitely a struggle and we really had to fight to get to where we needed to be in order to achieve our goal.  There was tension and frustration, but we knew that we only needed each other to live out our dreams.

That day of competition both of us were dancing! Smiling, laughing and at ease because we knew that no matter what happened we had done absolutely everything to prepare for the swim ahead of us.  It was just me and her.  I saw my parents, my family, her family, our coaches and teammates watching in anticipation.  It was as smooth as peanut butter! We had done it.  After months of ups and downs, bumps and bruises, we had that Gold medal around our necks.

It’s been over 12 years and we have gone on to compete around the world together.  Now striving to achieve our biggest goal yet, competing side-by-side with Team Canada at The Olympic Games.

Love Always,

C