A teenage swimmer from Riverview had the privilege of training amongst some of the best in Victoria, BC this week.
13 year old Brooklyn Douthwright was one of the youngest to qualify and be invited to the Canadian Swimming Trials.
She competed against world class swimmers including Penny Oleksiak, who won four medals at the Olympic Games held in Rio in 2016.
Douthwright says it was an amazing experience.
“I really wasn’t going there to qualify for Worlds because there wasn’t really any chance of me beating Penny Oleksiak, or any of the former Olympians,” says Douthwright. “I was just going there for the experience, not to really qualify for Worlds.”
She adds it was great to be able to see how those champions train.
“Seeing kind of what they’re doing, how focused they are when they’re about to swim, and what they’re doing behind the blocks, and in the pool,” says Douthwright. “It’s a great learning experience.”
Douthwright says she is hoping her hard work and determination pays off to eventually get her there as well.
“Obviously the ultimate goal is the Olympics, but if this is as far as I’m going to make it, I’m going to keep working at it, [and] just have fun with it,” says Douthwright.
After the trials, Douthwright was one of 30 who qualified and was chosen to take part in a Relay Takeoff Camp, that helps to develop young swimmers who are training with the hopes of competing in future Olympic Games. She was one of the top 20 fastest female Canadian swimmers between the ages of 13 and 17 years old.
She was the only swimmer from New Brunswick chosen to take part.
