Yuri Kisil, Ingrid Wilm, Rebecca Smith make most of training together in home town ahead of trip to Paris
Calgary’s Cascade Swim Club has a new nickname these days.
It’s one that underscores the Olympic wave of talent — the likes of Yuri Kisil, Rebecca Smith and Ingrid Wilm — lifting it into the limelight just ahead of the 2024 Paris Games.
“In a fun spirited way, they’re calling themselves the ‘Alberta High Performance Centre’ because Ontario has one and B.C. has one and so does Québec,” said Cascade Swim Club head coach Dave Johnson, referring to Swimming Canada’s three intensive training bases in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.
“We don’t have one here in Alberta, but we have a club that’s performed at the highest level in comparison of any other club in the country,” continued Johnson. “And I think that’s been recognized significantly by not only our colleagues and others swim programs but also by Swimming Canada that we did a pretty good job getting these kids to the Olympics.”
Indeed, the Calgary trio from Cascade — a club-high in Canada for these Games — is just days away from helping Canada to the podium in one of the most heralded of Olympic sports.
Coach Johnson, a former Swimming Canada coach from 1988-2004, will be right there along side them, too, making his 10th appearance at a Summer Olympiad.
“Somebody asked me how many Olympic trials I have been through, and it was something like 15, and every one of them have their special moments,” said Johnson, of Swimming Canada’s meet held earlier this year to help determine the country’s Olympians. “But this one particularly touched me a lot, just because I started at Cascade in 2005, built the program up and was able to get some Olympic swimmers on the team this time around.
“It felt pretty special.”
Of course, what would make this cycle even more special would be to see any of his Cascaders standing on the podium in Paris.
Smith, 24, is first off the blocks — opening the Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, France — in the 100-metre butterfly early Saturday (3 a.m. MT).
“Going into these Games and swimming in an individual event is pretty special,” said Smith, heading into her second Olympics. “I didn’t have that at the Tokyo Games. So I’m looking forward to that.”
But can she make it to the podium like she did in Japan, where Smith was part of Canada’s silver-winning 4x100m relay squad with Kayla Sanchez, Taylor Ruck and Penny Oleksiak?
“Honestly, it’s just living in the moment and just going out there and seeing what I can do,” said Smith, not knowing yet if she’ll be part of that same relay squad in France. “I want to race the best that I can. And having the experience of my first Olympic Games will help me with this one, as well. But you know, every Games is different. I think this one will be definitely a bit more exciting, just with not a lot of restrictions with COVID from Tokyo.
“I think it’ll be a new experience for me.”
It’s Olympics No. 3 for Kisil.
The born-and-bred Calgarian gets to work later on the first day in the 4×100-metre freestyle, joining Okotoks’ Finlay Knox and Torontonians Josh Liendo and Javier Acevedo.
“I’m very excited, especially after the last one being the COVID-kind-of Games,” said Kisil, who also loads up individually for the 100m free on Tuesday, July 30, and then the 4×100 medley relay on Saturday, Aug. 3. He could also swim in the mixed 4-x100 medley relay on Friday, Aug. 2.
“COVID restrictions kind of put a damper on the whole experience,” continued Kisil. “It was a lot more like business. We showed up a couple of days before and left after we were done racing and didn’t get to experience the city or celebrate with our fellow athletes.
“So I’m really excited for it to go back to normal and be more of a celebration with all the best athletes in the world celebrating our successes together.”
Kisil was a whisker away the podium in Tokyo, joining Liendo, Ruslan Gaziev and decorated Brent Hayden in finishing a surprising fourth while setting a Canadian record in the relay.
“That kind of left us hungry for getting on that podium,” said Kisil, 28, who returned to Cascade from Ontario’s High Performance Centre last summer. “A lot of people didn’t even expect us to make the final there. We proved a lot of people wrong, which is awesome, and a lot of great things came from it. But missing out on that medal in the last 10 metres of that race was very painful. So having another shot at that and being on that podium is definitely the goal.”
There there’s Wilm, who swims for the podium in the 100m backstroke early Monday (3 a.m.) and could also get the call to swim in the medley and mixed relays.
But unlike her fellow Cascaders, this is her first Olympic experience, so the 26-year-old rookie is likely to lean on her clubmates from Calgary …
Sort of.
“I think what’s great about our centre — well … I joke by saying ‘centre’ — what’s great about our club team is that we are able to rely on each other,” said Wilm, who was born in England and spent her childhood in the Middle East before moving to Calgary around age 11. “No one’s really taking the brunt of a leadership role like this. It’s very much that everyone has certain like aspects that we’re good at in our little club.
“Yuri makes it fun. And then Rebecca helps push us in training and make sure we’re doing the best we can do. She’s very good at motivating us, so I do love her for that.”
“Yeah … I think we have a special group here,” agreed Smith, herself born and raised in Red Deer before moving to Calgary when she was 16 to join Cascade and then moving to Toronto to train in the High Performance Centre there.
“To train with Ingrid and Yuri is pretty special,” continued Smith, who opted to return to Cascade to resume training under Johnson after completing nursing school at the University of Calgary this past December. “We kind of have like our little high-performance group. We push each other every day, and to see all of us reach our goals is pretty cool.”
Now it’s about the reaching their goals — and hopefully the podium — in Paris.
“I think they can all advance to second swims, which is top 16,” added Johnson. “And all of them should feature in the final somewhere. That’s what we’re hoping for.
“And then those medals are hard to predict.”