Whitehorse aquatic stars Alexandra Gabor and Bronwyn Pasloski show no sign of slowing down as the winter season approaches.
Competing at the 10th annual Paul Bergen Jr. International Meet the two took home a total of nine medals, including a gold for each.
“That was fantastic, they did very well,” said Glacial Bears coach Marek Poplawski. “They contributed a lot to team BC and I think everyone’s happy now for Christmas.”
Gabor ended up with one more medal around her neck than her fellow Glacial Bears Swim Club teammate. Her best result was a gold in the 4X200-metre freestyle relay, followed a silver in the 4X100-metre medley relay.
She also brought home three bronzes, finishing third in 4X100-metre freestyle relay, the 100-metre individual freestyle and the 200-metre individual freestyle.
Pasloski earned a gold in the 50-metre breaststroke and three silvers in the 100- and 200-metre individual breaststroke and in the 4X100-metre medley relay, which also gave Gabor her silver.
Continually outdoing themselves, the meet was not without some new personal bests for the two Glacial Bears. Pasloski shaved time off her bests in the 50- and 200-metre breaststroke while Gabor set a new personal standard in the 400-metre freestyle, in which she failed to place.
“It happens like that sometimes,” said Poplawski, commenting on Gabor setting a personal best in the one event that did not result in a medal.
Because of her outstanding showings over the last year in both national and international meets, and the setting of Canadian records, Gabor was recently presented with an award from the Ottawa-based Victor Davis Memorial Fund, which carries a $1,000 bursary.
“I am very honoured to have been selected to receive this funding and I was quite surprised and happy when I found out,” said 15-year-old Gabor in a press release. “I am always appreciative of any financial assistance that can help with the ongoing costs of traveling to national and international competitions.”
The bursary is named for former world and Olympic swimming champion Victor Davis, who was struck and killed by a vehicle a few months after his retirement in 1989.
Out of the 86 recipients of the award, 13 competed at the Beijing Olympics over the summer, including Ryan Cochrane, who won a bronze in the 1,500-metre freestyle.
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com