The Sealion’s summer swimming season ended on a superlative stroke last month.
The season’s zenith came mid-August at provincials. The Sealions sent seven swimmers south to the Nanaimo Aquatic Centre. The team came back with four medals.
Chris McGauley and Lauren Pastachak secured pairs of gold and silver, respectively.
McGauley showed superior swimming skill in both the 100m backstroke and 200m individual medley. Pastachak secured her silvers in 50m backstroke and 50m freestyle.
McGauley’s gold in the 100m backstroke not only earned him gold, but also a a place in Sealion’s lore as a club record holder.
All that effort meant he got to stand on the top tier.
“It’s awesome standing on the podium,” McGauley said.
That feeling was justified, as he dropped seven seconds from his personal best in his individual medley and three seconds in his backstroke to make it happen.
With numbers like those, McGauley is happy with the way his season has shaped up.
“I’m really happy with the season. It’s my first time winning gold and that was one of my goals,” he said.
Now that he has met his goal, he is pushing it further. He has set the bar to provincial heights and is now in search of a provincial record in the next two years.
At fifteen, McGauley now participates both in and out of the pool, finding that his passion for swimming extends to coaching. A passion which included some of his highlights, seeing the swimmers he coached, including Lauren Pastachak, improve.
It’s a passion he has a growing fondness for and one in which he sees a bright future.
“I did prefer swimming but now that I’m getting older it’s exciting to see other kids do well. Probably, I see coaching more in the future,” he said.
Next year he hopes the upward trend will continue. He wants to make the team stronger and continue to gain medals both through swimming and by helping the younger swimmers hit their potential.