Parksville swimmer Nicholas Bennett has won a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
Bennett, 18, finished first in the menB次元官网网址檚 200-metre freestyle Para-14 final on Wednesday (Aug. 2) evening, with his parents and grandparents watching back home. He said his victory had yet to sink in.
B次元官网网址淚 guess I havenB次元官网网址檛 fully comprehended it yet, to be honest,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 just absolutely ecstatic. (The strategy was) just hunker down. It started hurting by the 100-metre mark, but didnB次元官网网址檛 really matter at that point.B次元官网网址�
He recently set a Canadian record and won silver at 2022 World Para Swimming Championships in Madeira, Portugal, but managed to top that.
B次元官网网址淗e was ready for the gold,B次元官网网址� said NicholasB次元官网网址檚 father, Shawn Bennett. B次元官网网址淗e called us that night and we exchanged a lot of pictures back and forth, because of course he got a lot of media attention from all sorts of different outlets.B次元官网网址�
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NicholasB次元官网网址檚 flight is scheduled to land on the Island tomorrow (Aug. 5), and he will immediately head to the Nanaimo Aquatic Centre to swim with his friends in a regional meet, according to Shawn.
B次元官网网址淗e wants to go swim with his buddies and his friends for fun,B次元官网网址� he said.
Nicholas, who for two years has trained at the High Performance Centre (CHP) B次元官网网址� Qu茅bec in Montreal, will return home for a year to train at Ravensong Aquatic Centre in Qualicum Beach. His sister Haley, a former competitive swimmer and now assistant coach for Team BC, will be his coach.
B次元官网网址淎 lot of the media will say B次元官网网址楴icholas of CHPB次元官网网址�,B次元官网网址� Shawn said. B次元官网网址淏ut whenever he competes internationally, heB次元官网网址檚 swimming under the banner of RAC, which is Ravensong Aquatic Club in Qualicum.B次元官网网址�
Shawn said the family is excited to soon be together again in Parksville.
Next year they will watch him compete at the World Championships in Manchester and, hopefully, the Paris Paralympics in 2024.
B次元官网网址� With a file from Canadian Press
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