Innisfail's Hidde Geurts is a national swimming champion with eight medals to prove it.
Innisfail's Hidde Geurts is a national swimming champion with eight medals to prove it.
The 19-year-old Special Olympics athlete returned from the 2014 National Special Olympics, which were held in Vancouver from July 8th to 12th with a mitful of medals in only his third year of competition.
"He has come a long way since he started to swim competitively when he was 16," said his mother Anneke of her developmentally delayed son. "Hidde has always been a swimmer but three years ago during his Grade 10 gym class the lifeguard said he had potential and should try Special Olympics swimming. So he did."
Last year, the swimmer went to the Canada Summer Games in Quebec for the first time and placed fifth in his category. This year, he went all the way to nationals.
"I swim with the Innisfail Dolphins and play with the Cottonwood Kayak Polo team and swim in the Special Olympics Swim Club in Red Deer," said Geurts. "I enjoy swimming and try very hard to master the technical aspects of turns. I am improving all the time."
Geurts returned from Vancouver with gold medals in the 100-metre freestyle, 4 x 50 metre freestyle relay, and 4 x 100 metre freestyle relay events, silver in the 4 x 50 metre medley relay, 50-metre breaststroke and freestyle, and bronze in the 100-metre backstroke, and 50-metre butterfly.
When he turned 19 on April 12, Geurts broke all of his personal bests and set news ones in six events at a swim meet in Calgary. He was preparing for nationals and the Alberta Summer Games held in Airdrie last week.
"I look up to Michael Phelps of the United States who has won more Olympic medals than any other athlete in history," said Geurts.
Geurts graduated from Notre Dame High School in Red Deer in 2014 and will be taking upgrading to improve his biology and math marks in preparation for a career in construction.
"We are waiting to find out if Hidde will qualify for the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games to be held in Los Angeles," said Anneke. "We should know by September. The Canadian team can only take 20 swimmers but there are different age levels for competitors."
Meanwhile, Geurts is enjoying the success he had here at home in Canada this year.
"It was so much fun in Vancouver at nationals," said Geurts. "Everyone was so warm and supportive from the opening ceremony to the finals. My whole family loved the experience."
