Photo credit: www.deannamccollum.com
Club: Island Swimming/National Green
Coach: Aaron Dahl
Age: 20
Height: 6’5
Best Event: 10km Open Water
•Studies psychology at the University of Victoria
•Won three bronze medals at the 2009 Canada Games
•Ontario Provincial record holder in the 800m freestyle
•Father played pro basketball in Europe
•Won first National 10k title in 2010
1) At what age did you start swimming?
I started swimming competitively at age 12, starting introductory stuff only a few months prior to that.
2) What was your favourite stroke or event as a 12 & under swimmer?
I never really got the chance to swim too much 12 & under stuff but I was quite the butterfly fan ironically because I was awful.
3) What is your very first memorable swimming moment?
Definitely this regional meet we have in Toronto, it was probably the biggest event I had ever raced at the time, I was 13.
4) Who is the person you think helped you most along the way?
I would say just my family in general helped. It was hard for me coming from such a strong sports background to enter a sport so late and be forced to work really hard to catch up.
5) Who is your favourite athlete?
There are so many great athletes and so many over the years have changed as my favourite in my mind. I would say my current favourite is probably Roger Federer, just because he has always played tennis with a level of skill and respect that is unprecedented.
6) What would you be doing if you weren’t a competitive swimmer?
If I weren't a competitive swimmer I would probably be actively involved in another sport or just working through school.
7) What keeps you motivated to train hard each day?
I would say that big goals and big competition keeps me motivated to train every day. Especially with the work that goes into distance swimming, competition on an international stage really keeps me going in the tough times.
8) How do you push yourself during a hard workout when you are tired or sore?
Like I said before it’s definitely the goals I have that cause me to push myself. Swimming in my eyes is in the top percentile of difficulty in all of sport so it just comes with the territory that you have to really focus and push yourself.
9) What is the secret to balancing school and training?
I would say dedication is the key to both and also time management. If you are on top of it, the balance can come naturally.
10) What is your favourite activity outside of sport?
I would say that pretty much anything music related is of interest to me. I’m always scouring the internet and other resources for new stuff.
11) What is your favourite post-workout snack?
I only in the last few years started liking chocolate milk but now I would say that it is easily my favourite post workout recovery with some sort of bar. Chocolate chip cliff bars make a good companion.
12) Who is your favourite band/singer?
This is probably the hardest question anyone could ever ask me. My current favourite is definitely a DJ named Porter Robinson. But I would say that the musician that has always inspired me most is Kanye West.
13) What is your favourite TV show , movie or both?
Again a difficult question for me. Some of my favourite shows on TV are The Walking Dead and Parks and Recreation; I can always count on those each week.
14) How do you prepare yourself mentally for a race?
I would say relaxation is the key. Mentally being on top of such a long race is really taxing. So I think what I’ve learned most is that you really need to relax both before and during the race because there is plenty of strategy to control your outcome.
15) Do you have any pre-race rituals?
I like to really hydrate well going into a race. I usually have to travel all over the place to race Open Water and so I bring pre-race gels and bars with me that I know and trust will get me set up well.
16) Do you have a favourite pre-meet meal?
Pre Open Water is all about the carb loading. haha So usually any good amount of pasta combined with an absurd amount of water. It’s not my favourite but it definitely gets the job done.
17) What do you feel is your Career highlight so far?
I think the highlight of my career thus far was probably my experience at Canada Games in August of 2009. It really solidified all the hard work I had done to get to that point and I had some good results at that meet.
18) What are your goals for the future in the sport of swimming?
My goals for the future are similar to that of a lot of swimmers in that I would love the opportunity to represent Canada at the Olympic Games. Alternatively though, I have always been intrigued by the opportunity to compete at all 6 of the major competitions, so I am halfway to that goal.
19) What is something that most people wouldn’t know about you?
Something most people don’t know about me is that I lived in both England and Belgium for almost a year each when I was a kid.
20) What advice do you wish someone had given you as a young age group swimmer?
The advice that I wish someone I had given me at a younger age is the necessary emphasis on technique. Growing up a lot of coaches had a hard time integrating me into the groups because I had started so late so technique wasn’t as big of a necessity at the time. I really believe in the value of a nice stroke and I still am working on technique vigorously every day.
If you have any other questions for Aimeson, please post them under comments and we will get him to answer them for you.
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