The Barrie Trojan Swim Club will be represented at upcoming international events as local athletes eye bringing home gold.
Three major events take place on the 2023 swimming calendar as the World Swimming Championships start in Fukuoka, Japan on July 14, followed by the World Junior Championships in Netanya, Israel from Sept. 4-9, and then the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile from Oct. 20 to Nov. 5.
The Barrie Trojans will be sending athletes Laila Oravsky and Jordi Vilchez and a coach Endi Babi to Israel, while Oravsky will also compete at the Pan Am Games.
At the recent Canadian Swimming Trials, which took place from March 28 to April 2 in Toronto, Oravsky earned a silver in the 1,500-metre freestyle race, while Vilchez took home three bronze in the 800-m freestyle, the 200-m and 400-m individual medley — a race consisting of each stroke, including fly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle.
Vilchez says he was happy to make the junior squad.
"Making the junior team was the goal I was working towards all season long, so when I saw my name on the list, the first feeling I felt was relief,” he said. “Being as competitive as I am, the second feeling I had was to look up how I ranked in the world to see the work ahead."
Vilchez and Oravsky were not the only Trojans representing Barrie at the Canadian Trials. The squad sent a total of five swimmers, including William Debroux, Julia Denes and Taira Vroom, who all swam personal bests.
This is the largest roster the Barrie Trojan club has ever sent to the Canadian Trials, which is the highest-level swim meet in competitive swimming in Canada.
The last time the Barrie Trojan Swim Club had a national team member was in 2014 when Daniel Kuiack was selected to the Canadian squad to compete at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Hawaii.
Next year, the Canadian Swim Trials will be used to select the national team that will head to Paris for the Olympic Games.
Vilchez will be 19 years old next year, which means he'll be vying for a spot for the senior Olympic team as he will no longer be considered a junior.
Oravsky is 16 and will still be eligible for either, or both, the national or junior team in 2024.
