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Orangeville Otters compete at Canadian Swim Championships

August 22, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

Five swimmers from the Orangeville Otters competed at the Canadian Swim Championships from July 24 to 29.

The championships were held in two locations with the in-pool event occurring in Toronto and the open-water event held in Welland, Ont.

For these five swimmers, the primary goal was simply to qualify. However, their performances exceeded expectations, demonstrating their ability to compete with the best in Canada.

Aiden Arbeau had an ousting meet, making it to three final events. Aiden placed 17th in the country in 100m backstroke, and 15th in the 200m backstroke with a new personal best time of 2:14.

He placed 21st in the 50m backstroke, and 11th in the 1.5km Open Water competition.

Wesley Halls had the most swims at the championships and achieved several personal best times.

Wesley placed 24th in the 50m butterfly, 31st in the 400m freestyle, and 34th in the 100m freestyle with a personal best of 56 seconds. He placed 42nd in the 50m freestyle with a new best time of 26.25 seconds.

Wesley also place 17th in the 100m Fly, and 31st in the 200m freestyle with a new best time of 2:03.75.

Katie Malec delivered a strong performance in her events after a long season of sprinting. She swam the 100m freestyle in 1:00.73 and placed 34th in the 50m freestyle.

Nethaya Mahadana Arachchi had an impressive showing being the first Otter to qualify for the championships. She placed 30th in the 100m breaststroke, 16th in the 50m breaststroke, and 21st in the 50m backstroke. 

After taking a few months off, Matthew Raue made a good comeback with strong swims in the 50m, 100m, and 200m breaststroke events. Matthew is also a university swimmer who races with the McMaster Marauders. 

These athletes not only achieved their goal of qualifying for the Canadian Swim Championships, but also demonstrated exceptional performance against some of the nation’s best swimmers.  

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