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Otters swimmer wins five Provincial gold medals

July 19, 2019   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

A local competitive swimmer has returned from a provincial meet with a lot of gold after winning five medals at the Ontario Summer Festival Championships hosted by the Markham Aquatic Club on June 14 – 16.                                                                              

Matthew Blackwell, a ten year-old swimmer with the Orangeville Otters Swim Club, won five gold medals at the recent event.                                                                                

The meet is the Provincial Championship for swimmers aged 12 and younger in Ontario.  

Matthew took gold in the 50m Free, 50m &100m Butterfly, and the 50m & 100m Backstroke.                                                                                                                        

In addition to his five provincial titles, Matthew is now ranked in the top ten in Canada in eight different events.                                                                                                       

He is ranked first in the 50m fly and second in the 100m fly.                                  

Butterfly is his specialty.                                                                                                  

His affinity for racing, combined with his training, is helping him develop into an elite age group swimmer.                                                                                                             

This season Matthew has shattered both the short course (25m pool) and long course (50m pool) club records for the 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 400 Free, 50 Back, 100 Back, 200 Back, 50 Breast, 100 Breast, 200 Breast, 50 Fly, 100 Fly, and 200 Medley.  

When asked what he likes about swimming, he said “I like the 

physical activity. I also like making new friends and meeting the competitors.”                                                             The Otters club has steadily increased its rankings within the swimming community on the regional, provincial, and national level since head coach Rob Taylor joined the team in 2016.                                                                                                                              “I am very pleased with the performances of all of the Otters who competed at the Ontario Summer Festival Championship meet,” Taylor said “This year we sent the largest squad in club history. We had multiple swimmers improve their provincial ranking to score points (top 8 in the province) for the team. Because of the tremendous team effort, we had our best showing yet. Our 12 & undr program continues to build momentum and I am excited about the futures for many of our young athletes. Obviously, Matthew was the stand out swimmer for us and watching him race was exciting. Although we already knew it, he showed everyone else at the meet that he is a great young swimmer, one of the best in Canada.”

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