Double silver for Swinson at OFSAA
Shannon Swinson mined double silver in impressive fashion at the recent Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations’ track and field meet.
The 19-year-old Beamsville and District Secondary School student won silver medals in the 100-metre and 800-metre girls intellectually disabled division. In the process, the reigning OFSAA cross country bronze medallist set personal best times in both events. She broke her personal best in the 800 by nine seconds with a time of 3:01.11 and then ran the 100 metres in a sparkling time of 14.62 seconds. For good measure, the Beamsville resident added a fifth-place finish in the shot put.
“The last couple years I had PBs, but I didn’t do the best I could do,” Swinson said. “Now my times are really good.”
She was self-motivated to take the next step in her track and field career.
“I wanted to prove myself so I just ran the best races that I could,” she said. “I trained hard and it turns out, training hard works.”
She works out three times a week with the Niagara Olympic Club and enjoys every moment of her training.
“I come here to see my friends and it’s lots of fun when I am running the best that I can be,” she said.
The track is the perfect spot for her.
“I am always on the go and I always want to be here,” she said. “Running is my favourite thing to do.”
She also plays soccer.
“Soccer is not my thing,” Swinson said, with a smile. “I know I am good at it but soccer is not for me any more.”
Swinson, who is now preparing for a couple of upcoming meets in the summer, has her eyes set on a number of goals.
“I want to make the Ontario team and next year my goal is to get into the 13s (13 seconds in the 100 metres) and get first.”
Niagara Olympic Club coach Derrick Beach likes her chances.
“Shannon is a great athlete,” he said. “She comes out, works hard every night and she enjoys coming to the track.
“She is a very diverse athlete and she competes in a number of different events.”
Beach had been working with Shannon for almost two years and has seen a lot of improvement.
“She has always been pretty good in the sprints, but she has really blossomed in the 800 and longer distances.”
Beach points to previous training to explain her success in the 800 metres.
“The base she developed in cross country during the fall has helped her with her stamina to do the 800,” he said.
In addition to primary high school sponsors. Johnny Rocco’s and Mick and Angelo’s, BPSN’s coverage of the track and field season is made possible with the support of the Niagara Olympic Club (https://nocrunners.com).
