Yukon Graylings Masters Swim Club’s Victoria Ryan had to shake the rust off before hitting the water in her first competition in over a year. Where there was rust, now there is gold.
Ryan won four gold medals at the 2017 B.C. Masters Swimming Championships in Kelowna, April 21-23.
“I’m very pleased with my results. Since having my third child almost two years ago I haven’t been swimming as much so with the amount of training — and increasing age — I’m super happy and surprised with the times,” said Ryan. “Makes for great motivation to train a little bit more next year.”
Ryan won gold in the 50-metre freestyle (28.6), the 100-metre freestyle (1:02.67), the 100-metre individual medley (1:12.40) and the 50-metre backstroke (35.01) in the women’s 40-44 age group.
“I think I’m most happy with the 100 free. It’s a sprint but requires a certain level of fitness in order not to ‘die’ in the last 25m. I was kind of waiting for the ‘piano to drop’ after my last turn at 75 meters but it didn’t really happen and I felt surprisingly strong,” said Ryan.
“It was a long time (since) I raced so in all my races there are lots of little things to tweak and remember but I hope to be able to swim a little more next season and I really hope to be able to bring a bigger team of Graylings to a meet.”
Ryan wasn’t alone in Kelowna. Graylings teammate Sue MacKinnon placed sixth in the 50 free in the women’s 60-64 age group. She finished with a personal best time of 47.30.
Thought this is MacKinnon’s second season with the club, Kelowna was her first swim meet.
“It was my first ever — I’ve never even watched one before,” said MacKinnon. “Victoria talked me going down. She said, ‘Come on down, it’s fun.’
“I’ll be 60 this year, I’m not a very good swimmer or a fast swimmer, and it was really fun. There’s a very supportive crew down there, I didn’t do too bad in my age-group and I was very pleased in the end.”
The Graylings club, which is in just its third season, is for swimmers ages 18 and up.
Contact Tom Patrick at tomp@yukon-news.com