Parksville swimmer Nicholas Bennett has earned a spot in the Canadian team that will compete in the Tokyo Paralympic Games beginning Aug. 24.

B次元官网网址淚 am excited that all of my training has paid off and I am looking forward to representing Canada,B次元官网网址� Bennett said in an email to the PQB B次元官网网址.

Following the cancellation of the Paralympic Swimming Trials last month due to the global COVID-1, in order to fill the remaining four of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 19 positions, Swimming Canada invited eligible athletes to demonstrate competitive readiness via submission of training logs and data as well as a video-recorded time trial performance.

Bennett, along with Matthew Cabraja of Brampton, Ont., Tammy Cunnington of Ponoka, Alta., and Angela Marina of Cambridge, Ont., earned the spots, completing an unusual nomination process that started back in September 2019 at the World Para Swimming Championships in London.

B次元官网网址淣icholas, Matthew, Tammy and Angela along with their coaches have each demonstrated through their performances at the end of May their talent, tenacity, adaptability and ability to perform on demand,B次元官网网址� said Wayne Lomas, Swimming Canada Associate High Performance Director and Para Swimming National Coach. B次元官网网址淥ff the back of these performances, I am confident that they will be in even better shape to perform for Canada in Tokyo this summer.B次元官网网址�

Bennett had made a strong case to land one of the spots on Team Canada after posting a string of good results that saw him win gold medals in two major competitions in 2019 that included setting world and Canadian records. But the 2020 Paralympic Games were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was moved to 2021.

B次元官网网址淚 am not surprised at all that Nicholas made it,B次元官网网址� said Mike Thompson, BennettB次元官网网址檚 coach. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 what we were going for.B次元官网网址�

Bennett has been training at CHP-Quebec in Montreal which Thompson said has been a big advantage for him.

B次元官网网址淗e lives far away from his family and there literally hasnB次元官网网址檛 been anything to do except train,B次元官网网址� said Thompson. B次元官网网址淪o it has been a very tough year trying to keep everyone engaged without racing. We did most of our racing in unofficial time trials against no one. So itB次元官网网址檚 going to be very beneficial for Nick to start racing people again.

B次元官网网址淥verall IB次元官网网址檓 very impressed that Nick took the initiative to live in Montreal, far away from his family, stayed focused and was able to compete fast enough to win a spot on the team with his training partners Tess, James, Morgan and Zach.B次元官网网址�

The selection process for the team was way different from what Swimming Canada have been accustomed to.

B次元官网网址淭hese have been difficult times and this was a challenging process,B次元官网网址� added Swimming CanadaB次元官网网址檚 chief executive officer, Ahmed El-Awadi. B次元官网网址淚n the end, weB次元官网网址檙e confident this is the best team to represent Canada. We know they will all do us proud.B次元官网网址�

For more news from Vancouver Island and beyond delivered daily into your inbox, please