Red Deer Catalina Swim Club star Rebecca Smith had one goal in mind when she went into the 2015 swim season — to make the Canadian team to compete in the World Junior Championships in Singapore.
The 15-year-old Red Deer native accomplished her goal in April, then turned in a solid performance at the championships beside being two years younger than a lot of athletes.
She reached semifinals in both the 50-metre freestyle and backstroke, finishing 12th and 16 respectively. She then helped Canada win silver in the 4x200m relay and bronze in the 4x100m relay. Her time of 29.52 seconds in the 50m backstroke was the best in Canada for a 15-year-old this season, leaving her ranked No. 1.
“It was a great experience, there were so many great athletes there,” she said. “It was really cool making the semifinals.”
The world championships wasn’t exactly what she expected.
“I expected a lot of fast times, but there were so many different swimmers from all over the world and they were all so fast. It made me realize what I had to do to continue to improve and to keep training,” said Smith, who was just named the junior female swimmer of the year in Alberta.
Being part of Team Canada gave Smith an opportunity to see a lot of the world. She also competed in the Australian Age Group championships and was in Charlotte, N.C., for the Pro Swim Series meet.
She came home from Australia with a gold in the 100m backstroke, two silver and three bronze.
RDCSC head coach Mandi Smith (no relation) went to Singapore with Rebecca, which made the trip a little easier.
“Having her there was good but I also had a coach from Vancouver and I learned a lot from him as well.”
Smith got into swimming competitively when she was eight and has steadily moved up the rankings provincially and nationally.
“That’s about the age I really started to be interested in the sport,” she said.
She is now ranked in the top 10 in the country in 10 events, including the 50m freestyle and backstroke. She is third in the 100m freestyle, fifth in the 200m freestyle and 10th in the 400m freestyle. In backstroke she is second in the 100m and fifth in the 200m. She is also third in the 100m butterfly and fifth in the 50m ‘fly. She is fifth in the 200m Individual Medley.
She showed her talent at this year’s Canadian Age Group championships, winning the 50m freestyle and 200, I.M. and finishing second in the 200m freestyle, 50, 100 and 200m backstroke and 50 and 100m butterfly. She also helped the RDCSC to a fifth-place finish in the medley relay.
Smith competes in most of the strokes and plans on sticking with them as long as possible.
“I’m still learning my strengths,” she said. “As I grow older I’ll figure out which one I’m better at. I like freestyle and backstroke, so it may end up I stick with them. It’s hard to qualify in all the strokes, but it’s good to have choices as well.”
Smith is in Grade 10 at Lindsay Thurber High School and while she played basketball last year she expects to just concentrate on swimming while running cross-country and track and field for the high school.
“It’s fun to compete with friends,” she said, adding LTCHS has helped her considerably with her classes when she has to compete in major events.
“The teachers understand and help me a lot with my school work when I have to miss time.”
Smith is off this week but will return to training on Monday as she looks to once again make the Canadian team to compete in the Pan Pacs in Hawaii. The World Junior Championships are every two years and she will still be eligible in 2017.
Rebecca’s sister Madalyn is strong in the breaststroke and is one of the top competitors on the Catalina Club.
“It’s fun to compete with her ... she’s one of my biggest supporters.”
The five-foot-10 Smith will compete in a number of smaller meets this fall before attending the OJI meet in Toronto in December.
As for the future Smith isn’t worried about that yet.
“I haven’t been contacted by any schools and really I’m not worried about it. I’ll look more into it next year then I’ll see what my options may be.”