At the tender age of only nine years old, Lively
native Kasey Thompson recently became one of the youngest swimmers
in Ontario to qualify for the provincial championships. As the
youngest provincial qualifier on the Sudbury Laurentian Swim Club
this year and competing in the nine and ten age category for the 400
metre freestyle, she swam her way to a respectable 14th place
finish. Even more impressive than that though is the fact that she
ended up in first place out of all the nine-year-olds in the
province. Being able to qualify and compete against the best young
swimmers in the province was the completion of a goal that the
youngster set out for herself at the beginning of the year.
“I was very happy,” says
Thompson with a great big smile on her face. “That made me want to
train more.”
In fact, she’s training
five times a week now in the hopes of qualifying for the long course
at the junior provincials in July. No matter what happens though,
the Grade 4 student at St. James Catholic School has definitely come
a long way after being introduced to the sport three years ago by a
friend. She started out as a recreational swimmer taking swimming
lessons at the club, but she progressed so quickly that her
instructors wouldn’t let her move up due to her young age. So, she
decided to join the competitive program and hasn’t looked back
since.
“It’s really fun,” she
says. “I get to see all my friends and I get to miss school,” she
jokes.
Although she also enjoys
cross-country skiing, swimming remains her passion. “Swimming is my
favourite,” she says. “My favourite stroke is freestyle because it’s
not tiring.”
She plans on swimming for
a long time to come and her level two coach, Sarah Mailloux,
believes the sky’s the limit for Thompson.
“I think can achieve
anything that she wants to with her dedication and her sheer will to
want to win,” Mailloux says. “I think she can go as far as she wants
to as long as she keeps the training aspect and her positive
attitude.”
She believes her positive
thinking is her greatest strength, but also indicates that she’s
gifted with natural talent and an unrelenting determination to
improve and persevere.
“She always wants more out of practice, she never
complains, and she’s always eager to push herself past her limit. I
think that helps her a lot because she’s willing to go the extra
distance,” Mailloux says. “She’s a real young swimmer so there’s
always room for improvement in technique, but she’s progressed very
quickly both in technique and performance-wise.”
