Ask Penny Oleksiak, and she’ll likely tell you expectations can be as fluid as the water that vaulted her to super stardom in Rio.
It’s a model of success, and a belief system, that Vancouver’s Kendall Stirrat is looking to replicate starting this week.
Stirrat is one of two B.C. residents representing Canada at this week’s Amateur Swimming Union of the Americas competition in Puerto Rico.
The solo synchronized swimmer is competing in the under-15 category at the meet, and it’s her first time competing for her country at an international meet.
“I expect it to be a little bit different, but I just have to adapt to whatever is put in front of me,” said Stirrat, 13. “I’m just going to go for it and do my best.”
The parallels to where Oleksiak is at now, and where Stirrat hopes to be heading, are striking.
These Olympics were supposed to Oleksiak’s test case for 2020: instead the 16-year-old was Canada’s most celebrated athlete, captured four medals, and was the nation’s flag bearer at the closing ceremonies.
The plan for Stirrat was to crack Canada’s synchro squad next year, with an eye on the 2020 Games as well.
But throughout qualification events this year, goals were set, expectations were met and the competitive compass was re-set. She advanced through compulsory trials that saw the field of swimmers pared down from 220 to the final 12.
Now the plan is to be the best in Canada for her age by next year.
“People were saying this wasn’t [Oleksiak’s] year, that 2020 would be her time,” said Kara Zader, Stirrat’s coach at the Pacific Wave Synchronized Swimming Club. “We also have a 2020 plan for Kendall because she shows up for training every day and she works her ass off. She’s doing things that older-level athletes are doing. The plan is unfolding perfectly.”Â
The initial semblance of that plan was put in place four years ago, when Stirrat first moved to the club. She was 11 at that time, though her competitors ranged in age between 13 and 15.
Doubt, anxiety and growing pains clouded her first six months.
“I normally just try and forget about [the stress] — what happens, happens,” Stirrat said. “I may feel angry at first, but that transforms into motivation. I try to leave that behind and focus on the next thing.”
That focus has been central to someone who’ll enter Grade 9 at Kitsilano secondary school this month. Stirrat balances a rigorous training regimen that eclipses 30 hours a week, along with school.
There are times when she can’t fit in the normalcies of being a teenager.
“Lots of kids, they’re at the lake or at the cabin during the summer, but Kendall was at the pool putting in her time,” Zader said. “That’s the easiest thing about working with Kendall is that she always comes to the pool happy. Much like any athlete who decides to go the high-performance route, that first year is a lot harder than what they are used to.”
Stirrat comes from a family of swimmers: her mom was involved in competitive synchro, her older sister is a swimmer and her cousin used to train at the same club she does.
Swimming since the age of six, the lofty goals of being the nation’s best and a 2020 Olympic berth don’t seem as lofty as they did when Stirrat first set foot in a pool.
That Oleksiak shattered any notion of an age barrier only cements her resolve and her coach’s confidence.
“When I was younger it was more of a fun thing to do,” Stirrat said. “There [weren’t] major goals, but this kind of momentum built around being competitive, setting goals and achieving them. The moment you achieve your goals is a great feeling, and I wanted to keep feeling that. The drive to keep getting better is what drives me.”
The Amateur Swimming Union of the Americas tournament is on now and runs until Sept. 4.Â
[email protected]
°Ş´ł´Çłó˛Ô°łÜ°ůłÜł¦łúĚý
