After three years of turbulence in her personal life, a Wasaga Beach swimmer is ready to take the plunge and will be competing representing Canada on the world stage in October.
But her journey to get here has been a long one, and she says she would have struggled harder with had it not been for the support of the southern Georgian Bay community.
Anastasia Boldireff, a Wasaga Beach resident, will be competing at the Oceanman World Championships in Greece on Oct. 29, which is a five-kilometre open water swim. To prepare, Boldireff will be practising Sunday doing a five-kilometre loop around the Collingwood Terminals starting at 9 a.m. as part of the Canaqua Collingwood Terminals Open Water Swim, and has invited the community to come cheer her on.
“I think COVID has changed the world. For me, it took me from a short-course swimmer out to the open water,” said Boldireff. “As part of my journey to the worlds and through the tail end of a court process, the support I’ve received from the community has been really helpful.
“I feel pride about representing Canada on the world stage,” she added.
The last three years have been tumultuous for Boldireff.
“I was the victim of a crime. I spoke out and acted as an advocate for victims' rights. I was stalked by a well-known serial rapist and had to flee the country,” she said.
According to reporting by CBC News, in April 2022, Adamo Bono, 41, pleaded guilty to criminal harassment of Boldireff in events dating back to 2019. The charges came after he had been found not criminally responsible on two charges of sexual assault on two different women less than a year earlier, in December 2018.
“My return to Canada at the Georgian Bay community, at first, was a little bit difficult,” she said. “I personally felt like I was left destitute. When I Google myself, that’s the only thing that comes up.”
“Coming home and feeling this sense of community in Collingwood and people who care...people have been really wonderful and I have an extreme sense of gratitude,” she said.
Boldireff says she’s been a swimmer her whole life. When she was a child, she went swimming regularly with her father, who is also a long-time swimmer. While her family has always owned a summer home in Wasaga Beach, they made the move to the town full-time about 10 years ago. Boldireff has lived there off and on, as she’s also been working on getting her PhD from Concordia University in Montreal.
“I learned how to swim in a hot tub. Every time my family has moved, swimming has always been central to my life,” she said.
She started swimming competitively when she was six years old, and continued to compete during her undergrad.
In 2017, she competed at the FINA Masters World Championships in Budapest, Hungary placing 20th in the 50-metre breaststroke event. In 2019, she qualified for the Pan American games, which was interrupted by COVID-19. She qualified for the Oceanman World Championships in February.
“There was this impression I had that, as I was older than 20, that was it (for my swimming career). I find it interesting. I’d like to try to make swimming more inclusive,” she said. “Some athletes train for a career in longevity, rather than peak in their 20s. I’d like to have a longer career in swimming.”
“Collingwood is an amazing place for athletes. I’ve had so much support,” said Boldireff.
On Sept. 15, Boldireff will be speaking about her experience as a victim of crime and how important swimming has been to her for healing as part of a talk sponsored by the Collingwood Foundry and Rally Beer.
“At that event, I’m going to be talking about sport as healing and how I’ve been able to find clarity, peace and grounding in swimming and in training,” she said.
Boldireff is currently working on raising funds for her trip to compete in Greece on Oct. 29, as well as seeking out a sponsor. She is looking to raise $5,000, however any funds raised above that amount will be donated to the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime.
If you’d like to support her, you can read more about her story or contact her here.
