Thirteen-year-old Paul Zou led an outstanding showing by the Winskill Dolphins at the recent B.C. AAA Short Course Swimming Championships in Saanich.
Despite bringing just 22 swimmers to the four-day meet, the Dolphins finished 11th overall - earning a whopping 33 medals including 17 gold.
"Going into the meet, our team mission was simple: show up to every race," said head coach Ben Keast. "We did that and the results took care of themselves. The swimmers were professional and poised. They harvested the fruits of their hard work and took away some great lessons for future training and competition."
Zou thrived in the 25metre length pool, earning medals in each of his seven races. He claimed provincial titles in the 100, 200 and 400 freestyle races. He also added gold in the 100 and 200 butterfly events.
His outstanding weekend concluded with silver in the 50 and 1500 freestyle.
Both of Zou's fly races were meet and club races. His 200 and 400 freestyle times were the fastest in the country by a 13-year-old this season.
Zou received Swim B.C.'s Regional Development Award, along with $125 in prize money.
It was also terrific competition for another 13-yearold Dolphin.
Tai Long Singh reached the podium in all six of his races, including gold in the 100 and 200 backstroke, along with the 400 individual medley. He added silver in the 100, 200 and 400 free races. His winning backstroke times were the fastest in Canada for his age category.
Dalton Boon swept all four of his para-swimming events, winning the 50, 100 and 200 free, along with the 100 fly. The 18-year-old's winning time in the 50 was just 0.2 seconds off the Canadian record.
Markus Thormeyer also batted 1.000 when it came to earning medals. The 15year-old won seven of them in as many tries, highlighted by gold in the 100 and 200 back, along with 100 fly which was performed in a meet record time. His 1500 metre silver medal swim was a whopping 19-second improvement on his personal best time. He added another silver in the 50 free and bronze in the 200 free.
His 200 back clocking was the fastest in Canada and helped earn him an invite to Swim B.C.'s prestigious Prospects West camp and duel meet in Kamloops next month.
Gabriel Lee, 16, returned home with six medals, including gold in the 400 IM and 100 fly. He added silver in the 200 free and back, along with bronze in the 1500 free and 200 IM.
Other Dolphin performances included:
Nunu Singh, 15: 100 back (bronze), 100 fly (bronze). Sidney Peake, 16: 400 IM (bronze), 200 free (6th), 400 IM (7th). Sarah Yeo, 15: 100 back (6th), 400 IM (8th), 200 fly (8th). Kiersten Gilberg, 14: 100 breast (4th), 200 breast (4th). Taylor Reilly, 14: 100 breast (5th), 200 breast (6th). Patrick Sheppard, 17: 200 breast (7th). Colette Summers (15): 200 IM (8th).
Amy Kowbel, 15, Vito Zou, 17, Aleckxeis Aficionado, 14, Melissa Kwantes and Kiana Beaton, 17 all swam personal or seasonal best times.
Joshua Yeo, 11, Rachel Yeo, 14, Ali Gracan, 15 and Duco Schuurman Hess, 13, showed plenty of promise in their AAA championship debuts.
