A Sundre swimmer who holds records with the Edmonton Masters Swim Club recently competed for his first time in the US Masters Swimming Summer National Championships.
Graeme Gordon, who lives in Olds but works in Sundre, left Aug. 17 for Portland, Ore. where the event was hosted at the Mt. Hood College 50-metre long outdoor pool. He returned on Aug. 21.
He competed in the following five events: 50-metre backstroke, placing third; 100-metre backstroke, placing fourth; 200-metre backstroke, placing second; 200-metre individual medley, placing fifth, as well as the 400-metre individual medley, placing ninth.
“It felt pretty good,” he told the Round Up during an interview. “It was a lot of fun.”
Although he didn't place first in any of his races, Gordon is now ranked among the best in Canada.
“With these five races — even though I didn't win them — it places me first in Canada in all of those events in my age group for the current calendar year.”
But it did not come easily.
“It's an outdoor pool,” he said about the Mt. Hood College facility, “and sometimes you kind of end up crashing into the lane rope.”
At one point in a race, Gordon said his hand got caught during a stroke, throwing him off a bit.
“Not every race is ever going to be perfect,” he said. “There are going to be mistakes. It's how you handle the mistakes and how you adjust when things don't go well or in your favour. I was able to recover from that (crashing into the lane rope) and still managed to come fourth in that race.”
Although he lives in Olds, Gordon said he almost exclusively trains at the Sundre Aquaplex. He had also competed in April at provincials in Edmonton, where he won all seven of his events.
Gordon also has the Edmonton Masters Swim Club's record for his age category in the 50-metre and 100-metre backstrokes, finishing with 31.85 seconds and 1 minute and 7.5 seconds respectively. His eyes remain set on getting the club's record in the 200-metre backstroke as well.
“I'm trying to complete the hat trick. I'm still chasing this club record.”
