A Long Swim from
Marlins to the NCAA
By Scott Taylor, Photo by Joe Bryksa, courtesy Marlins Swim Club
It isn’t always easy being one of the best
16-year-old swimmers in the country.
It takes hours of practice and training
and also the constant mental pressure
of improving and competing and
suffering for the sport.
Now, be sure, it’s not like Abi
Shewchuk would have it any other way,
but this Grade 11 student at Sturgeon
Heights Collegiate has had some tough
times in her young career, reaching a
standard that very few club swimmers
ever reach.
“Coaching your own child isn’t
always easy,” said Marlins assistant
coach Wendy Shewchuk, Abi’s mom,
and the one who just happened to
be the coach who hounded, trained,
taught and cajoled Abi into the Top 8 in
the country. “She’s a fierce competitor
and she loves to race, but we did have
our differences sometimes.”
Dave Guthrie, the Marlins’ head
coach, has taken over Abi’s competitive
training schedule and he admits, it’s
been easier for him. “It is so tough
to coach your own child in a sport as
individual and intense as swimming.”
Guthrie believes deeply in
Shewchuk’s skills and the work her
mom did to get the dedicated IM
competitor to where she is today.
However, at 16, where she is happens
to be is at a crossroads.
Her resume is outstanding: She’s
qualified for Senior Nationals,
Far Westerns, Canadian Western
Championships, Canadian Age
Group National Championships and
Manitoba/Saskatchewan Provincial
Championships. She’s a middle
distance swimmer who excels in
individual medley, breaststroke,
butterfly and backstroke.
This past summer, in the 15-16
age group at the Speedo Far Western
Championships in San Jose, Cal.,
she finished second in the 200 back,
second in the 100 back, fifth in the 200
IM, fifth in the 100 breast and eighth
in the 400 IM. This is a young woman
who went to the United States, faced
the best age group swimmers on the
continent and reached the finals in
every race.
At the Great Wolf Invitational in
Minneapolis in October, competing in
the women’s 15-and-over division, she
finished first in the 200 back, first in the
200 freestyle, first in the 200 breast, first
in the 200 IM, third in the 100 fly and
first in the 100 back. She was easily the
high point winner in her division.
At the recent Celebrate Swimming
Invitational in Winnipeg (Nov. 7-8),
competing in the 15-and-over division,
she was first in the 200 IM, second in
the 100 free and third in the 50 fly.
Now, as she prepares for the Prairie
Winter Invitational in Winnipeg from
Dec. 10-13, Coach Guthrie believes
she’s becoming one of the best age
group swimmers in the country – and
for all the right reasons.
“Abi has a strong work ethic and an
incredible dedication to the sport,”
Guthrie said. “Currently Abi’s training
schedule requires her to dedicate
Abi Shewchuk
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