Eden swimmers mine bronze
Two members of Eden’s swimming team returned from the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations swimming championships in Toronto with bronze medals hanging around their necks.
Emma Riches won her bronze in the 50-metre para backstroke and Olivia Sheldon struck bronze in the 100-metre freestyle.
Riches had previously won silver in the same event in Grade 10 and gold in Grade 11.
“This year was great,” Riches said. “Last year, I put so much pressure on myself for no reason. I was so scared. But this year, I had already won gold so I didn’t care going into this. I wanted to medal and that was my goal but I didn’t care what the colour was going to be. I wanted to have fun because I knew it was going to be my last swim meet.”
She has received a couple of offers to swim at the post secondary level in the United States but she’s heading to Niagara College this fall to study to become an educational assistant. She has already been working with special needs kids and the Niagara College diploma will allow her to make that her career.
Giving up swimming won’t be easy.
“It has been my life for four years so I broke down a little bit yesterday with Mr. (coach Andrew) White but I am moving on to a new chapter and I am going to see where God takes me in my life.”
The St. Catharines resident will have plenty of swimming memories to take with her.
“One was the team aspect. It has been incredible and learning how to lean on others and seek advice has been really helpful because I am a very stubborn person. That has improved so much and my faith in the Lord has also improved so much because there have been moments when it has been scary. Just being able to lean on that is really great,” she said.
“When I first got sick, my faith got really shaky because everyone would be like ‘Why is this happening to me?’ I was 13 and I was scared. Through swimming, my faith has grown completely and my para life and my walk with the Lord have improved so much. I am involved in my church now and I am so excited to see what comes next.”
Riches has a sub-type of scoliosis and was a Shriner’s patient in Montreal for a few years where she had to wear a back brace 23 hours a day. She has a hard time bending and her arms and legs are different lengths.
Riches started swimming competitively when entered Eden in Grade 9.
“Mr. White was the coach and I was in his Grade 9 geography class and he was talking about swimming. I thought that would be really fun so he got made into it in Grade 9 and I just took off with it. It was awesome.”
Because of COVID, there were only practices in Grade 9.
“That was really good because it got me into it and then I knew what I was doing. In Grade 10, I started doing competitions and started winning which was not what I expected. I started winning by a lot and it was really great.”
Her swimming background will pay dividends moving forward.
“I always felt that I was athletic but I wasn’t sporty. But now I am into fitness and with my future career I am going to need to be able to lift heavier weights. Being able to go to the gym and enjoy it is going to be big. But also the team aspect and being able to work well with as a team player will be crucial in life.”
BRONZE FOR SHELDON
Sheldon was thrilled to win her first OFSAA medal.
“It was really cool. I went into finals ranked fifth so I wasn’t sure if I was going to or not,” the Grade 11 student said. “I went in, I was really excited, the adrenaline was pumping and I went out and gave it my all.”
Winning the medal was somewhat anticlimactic.
“I had three events that I made the final in so I just had to book it to my next event. I went and got the medal after the three were done.”
She did not immediately know she had won a medal.
“I looked at the board and it was all kind of blurred. I got out of the pool and my coach told me that I had got third. I was so excited. The adrenaline was rushing.”
Sheldon started swimming when she was 11 with the Garden City Aquatic Centre and then moved to Brock after COVID. She swam with a group called Diamond and trained with the Brock varsity team for a year. She eventually quit swimming at Brock and focused solely on swimming with Eden.
“It was a super, super busy schedule and I couldn’t have a job at the start and I wanted to focus more on school. I wasn’t interested in getting scholarships or anything like that. I would rather go the academic route.”
Her competitive background made it hard for her to medal in Grade 9 and 10. Because of her competitive background, she was placed in the open division and was competing against Grade 12s. She placed in the top 20 in Grade 9 and in Grade 10 she made the finals in one event.
Sheldon is planning to swim again next year with Eden and see where it takes her once she arrives at a university to study business.
“I really, really love swimming. I have tried multiple sports and swimming is definitely the one that clicked. I don’t know what it is. I love the competition and how you compete but it is also a team sport. I love the camaraderie and how you race against yourself. I like the mindset you have to be in and how you have to completely depend on yourself.”
And she loves being in the pool.
“I like the quiet underwater. You put your head down and you can’t hear anything except your own strokes. It gets me in the zone and it is exciting.”
Like Riches, her swimming training is a big boon in all aspects of her life.
“One hundred per cent. It is confidence mainly. I always felt confident since swimming and I also am able to be a lot calmer in situations.”
