Bakica, Cairns earn coach鈥檚 praise after AA medal victories
Whitehorse Glacier Bears swimmers returned home from another successful meet this week.
Whitehorse Glacier Bears swimmers returned home from another successful meet this week.
Five local swimmers earned two medals, six club records and 18 finals at the 2015 B.C. AA Long Course Championships, held June 26 to 28 in Kamloops.
Cassidy Cairns, 13, surprised everyone by claiming silver in the 100 breast, said head coach Malwina Bukszowana.
After barely qualifying for the championships, Cairns improved her best time by five seconds en route to the medal.
鈥淐assidy swam very smart, being patient and holding long and strong strokes,鈥� Bukszowana said.
鈥淏reaststroke is all about details, it is a very technical stroke, so every little mistake makes a difference and creates more resistance. We still have a lot of room for improvement but for now Cassidy could not (have done) any better. She gave it her all.鈥�
Thomas Bakica, 12, earned a bronze in the 200 breast.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 his favourite stroke and he is getting very good technically,鈥� the coach said.
鈥淭homas is recently working on straight lines to minimize the friction in every stroke he takes, which pays off quite well.鈥�
Alongside the medal, Bakica broke the club record. It was one of six new records for the youngster last weekend, the others coming in 100 breast, 400 IM, 1,500 free, 50 breast and 800 free.
Meanwhile, Brooklyn Massie, 12, swam five finals.
Of note was a 鈥渧ery good鈥� 200 free race, where she wrote down each of her 50-metre goal times on her leg 鈥� then swam exactly the times she aimed at to finish fifth.
Aidan Harvey, 13, went out very brave and strong in his 200 back final. He held the pace well, breaking his best time by four seconds on that day, and finishing fourth.
鈥淚t was a great season-ending race for him,鈥� said Bukszowana, noting Harvey also finished fifth in the 100 back.
Finally, Luke Bakica, 15, finished eighth in the 200 IM.
鈥淗e was working well towards improving his fly and now has three strong strokes,鈥� said Bukszowana.
鈥淭here is still a lot to improve in his backstroke, which for sure will make a change in his medley events.鈥�
It was a good weekend, Bukszowana concluded.
鈥淪wimmers continue to prove that they are getting very good under the water off the walls,鈥� she said.
鈥淭hey are also a fun team, sitting together and cheering on their teammates and all of them are willing to be in swimming.鈥�
The 2015 B.C. AAA Long Course Championships begin today in Victoria, B.C.
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