Photo supplied by Catherine Minic

By Shane Clausing

Going for Tokyo

Grande Prairie’s Minic hoping for strong performance at Canada Olympic swimming trials

Jun 8, 2021 | 5:55 PM

Grande Prairie’s Catherine Minic is heading to the Canada Olympic swim trials next week in Toronto.

The swim trials will take place in Toronto from June 19-23 at the Pan Am Sports Centre. The original date for the trials was scheduled to happen from May 24-28 in Toronto, but was pushed back because of strict COVID-19 measures in Ontario.

Minic was invited to participate in the Olympic trials back in January.

She tells EverythingGP she’s excited to get to Toronto for the trials, after she’s put in months of hard work.

“It’s been a lot of hard work. The practices were not made easy by my coach, which is awesome, because that’s the only way you get really good and then reap the benefit of the reward,” said Minic.

Upcoming Events at Oliver's

Grief & Loss and Estate Planning Seminars

Oct 02, 2024

Local History

Oliver's Funeral Home - 109 years of Service

Sep 04, 2024

Funeral Alternatives

When You Don't Want A Funeral

Aug 07, 2024

“I’m really grateful for my coach who stayed there with me and it’s an experience I’ll never forget.”

In order to prepare for the Olympic trials, Minic was granted an exemption to continue her training by Alberta Health Services in January, which would allow her to continue to swim and train even if new restrictions came into effect.

A similar exemption was granted to other elite athletes across Canada and Alberta.

While Minic was happy she was able to continue training, she says it was an odd feeling with the Eastlink Centre being so empty.

“It was kind of lonely having the whole pool to yourself with nothing but your thoughts and 10k practices. I do miss swimming with my teammates, but I’m really grateful I was able to keep swimming.”

Minic was initially invited to the Olympic trials because of her performances in the 200m Fly and the 400m Individual Medley.

However, because some participants dropped out of the Olympic trials, Minic was also invited to participate in the 100m Fly and the 200m Individual Medley.

While Minic is grateful to be invited to the Olympic trials, she doesn’t think she’s quite at the Olympic level to make it all the way to Tokyo.

However, she is still hoping this trip to the trials will serve as a valuable learning experience for years to come.

“I don’t think I’m quite there yet, but a couple of personal bests would be great, just to prove to myself that these last few months of really hard work have really paid off,” said Minic.

“Even if I don’t (get a) personal best there, I don’t think it was for nothing, the training was amazing.”

As for expectations, Minic adds she’s lucky she doesn’t have much pressure on her.

“I’m actually really lucky going to this meet because I’m one the few people who doesn’t have that much pressure on me because A: I’m not trying to make any team because I’m not fast enough to make the Olympic team, and I’m not young enough to make a junior team,” explained Minic.

“B: there’s this thing you can have in Swim Canada called ‘carting’ which is basically getting paid for the sport. I don’t have that, so that’s all good. There’s no pressure, it’s just kind of go there and see what I can put down.”

Swimming Canada has set up a bubble for the athletes that will be attending the trials. All athletes will be subject to daily COVID-19 testing and the usual protocols.

Once the swimming trials are completed, Minic will focus her attention to the University of Indiana, where she’ll be attending school and competing next year on a scholarship.