Sasseville Medals In Japan

Chatham Pool Shark Genevieve (Gigi) Sasseville was selected to represent Team Ontario on a 7-day training and meet tour from December 16-23, 2019. While in Japan, the Ontario Team trained with the Japanese swimmers, was immersed in their culture, and learned hands-on about their approach to sports.

The tour had a unique emphasis on the mental side of sport; learning techniques to improve performance beyond the pool deck.

““It was an incredible experience. Getting to train with the Japanese team in their home pool was amazing,” said Sasseville. “I learned so much about how they train compared to us, and the meet was definitely challenging. We were so tired from the time change and then with the different prelim and finals format, it really challenged me as an athlete”.

The tour finished with a two-day short-course (25m) meet in Sagamihara Japan, featuring over 2000 athletes of various
ages. The meet was a challenge for the Canadian athletes as the format was quite different from a typical Canadian
meet. Instead of swimming a morning prelim and evening final, the Japanese meet had a morning prelim followed by a
short break to warm-up again and then immediately back in the water for finals. This definitely tested their mental and physical strength.

Sasseville made the podium in all her events, winning Gold in the 50m free, Gold in the 100m free, Gold in the 50m fly, Gold in the 200m fly, and Silver in the 100m fly.

Instead of medals the podium finishers received special plaques handcrafted from the trees affected by the 2011
tsunami.