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Kyla Leibel wins four gold at 2017 Speedo Western Championships

Red Deer Catalina swimmer Kyla Leibel cleaned up at the 2017 Speedo Western Championships this weekend in Calgary.

Red Deer Catalina swimmer Kyla Leibel cleaned up at the 2017 Speedo Western Championships this weekend in Calgary.

Leibel, competing in the 13 and over age group earned victories in the 50 metre, 100m and 200m freestyle, as well as the 100m backstroke.

She clocked 2:05.37 for her win in the 200m freestyle with Jessica Luo of Victoria second in 2:06.23 and Amanda McCallum of Nanaimo, B.C., third in 2:07.35 on Thursday.

In the 100m backstroke, Leibel took the gold once again finishing in 1:05.75 with Alexandra Butler of Calgary second in 1:06.66 and Maria Olarescu of Kamloops, B.C. third in 1:06.71.

On Friday, Leibel followed the two-gold performance with a win in the 100m in an impressive 57.49. She topped Luo who finished in 57.59 and Elizabeth Ling was third with a time of 58.56.

In Sunday’s final session, the Red Deer native added her fourth gold in the 50m freestyle event in 26.30. She beat Ling who finished in 26.90 for a silver medal.

She also went on to capture the 13-15 year old female aggregate award, as the top female swimmer at the event.

Leibel wasn’t the only Catalina swimmer who shined in Calgary, as teammate Elizabeth Moore also finished on the podium.

Moore established four personal bests, and went on to win a silver medal in the 200m breaststroke.

She also snagged bronze in the Women’s 16 and over age group in the 100m breaststroke on Friday night. She finished in 1:13.32, less than a second behind the gold-medal winner Sarah Knott of Edmonton. Moore also finished fourth in the 200m Individual Medley and fifth in the 50m breaststroke.

Lauren Bettenson, Claire Halford, Cale Kooyman, Kyra McMurray, Daniel Stayer, Kristin Trepanier, and Justin Valentine also represented the RDCSC over the weekend. Bettenson had a top 10 finish in the 50m freestyle, and new personal bests were set by Halford, Trepanier, and Valentine.

Daniel Stayer had a good showing in the 50m freestyle with a fourth place finish in the A final.

As a team, the Catalina finished 13th with 396 points.

byron.hackett@www.reddeeradvocate.com



Byron Hackett

About the Author: Byron Hackett

Byron has been the sports reporter at the advocate since December of 2016. He likes to spend his time in cold hockey arenas accompanied by luke warm, watered down coffee.
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