Schinkelshoek named to Team Canada swim roster
Pain Court’s Gavin Schinkelshoek will be on the Team Canada roster for the Junior Pan Pacific swimming championships from Aug. 17 to 20 in Vancouver.
The Pan Pacific will feature the top junior swimmers from the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and several countries from Europe.
“I am so pleased to be a member of the Jr. Pan Pac team! I have had this on my goal board since the start of the season and am very happy to be a part of this amazing group of swimmers that will represent Canada,” Schinkelshoek said in an email.
Earlier this summer, Schinkelshoek competed at the Canadian Trials in Montreal, which had 700 of Canada’s best swimmers. In addition to a national championship meet, it is used as a qualifier for future national teams such as Pan Pacific Championships, Common Wealth Games and Jr Pan Pacific Championships.
Gavin’s results in the order of the meet:
100 backstroke – Gavin was he only Jr. aged swimmer to make the A final in the 100 back. He placed 10th overall and earned a Jr National Championship silver medal.
100 Freestyle – Gavin clocked a best time of 51.51sec in the prelims to earn a spot in the Jr final. This broke a Windsor Aquatic Club record that was held by Tim Johnson since 1999. He placed fifth in the Jr final in a very tight field.
50 Backstroke – Gavin had a very tight turn around with only 30minutes to recover after the 100 Freestyle in both prelims and finals. He swam a 26.61 in prelims and was just 0.41sec out of another A final. Gavin placed first in the Jr Final to earn a Jr National Championship Gold medal.
50Freestyle -Gavin had an excellent swim from an outside lane in the fastest heat in prelims. He improved his time in the Jr Final to clock a 24.06sec, for an eigth place finish.
200 Backstroke – Gavin continues to gain experience and confidence in this race and it showed in a solid swim in prelims to earn him a spot in the Jr Final. He swam a best time in the final with a 2:05.00 and placed 7th as a Jr. in a very fast field. He also swam the 50 fly in prelims immediately after the 200 back and this was the only race that he did not get a second swim.
Ontario Swimming Championships:
On the way home from Montreal, Gavin joined his team at provincials, held at the Toronto Pan Am Centre in Scarborough. This meet had 1,048 swimmers in attendance and you must make a qualifying time standard to attend.
Gavin made an impact as a member of three relays. The 17 and over 4×100 medley relay placed fourth, just 0.02sec out of third. Gavin swam a best time in the backstroke leg, 56.43sec and broke another Windsor Aquatic Club Record. The 17 and over 4x200m free relay won silver medals with Gavin swimming first. The 17 and over 4x50m free relay won a gold medal with Gavin in the anchor position.
In addition, Gavin swam a few individual events on the days he was able to make it.
100 Freestyle – Gavin broke his recently acquired WAC record in BOTH prelims and finals. He swam a 51.47sec in prelims and improved that to a 51.17sec in finals for a Gold medal.
200 Individual Medley- Gavin had a solid swim in the prelims and placed 10th in the A final.
50 Back – Gavin was seeded first after prelims and earned a gold medal in the final.
Gavin also tied for the 17 and over High Points award. This award goes to a swimmer that has accumulated the most points for individual swims over the five day provincial championships. This was an outstanding accomplishment since Gavin was only able to swim individual events for two days.