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From humblIng strt to bert at natona Madin standout stamps hNs ticket to Victoila with club modin 50M feesty By Stem LIamc CANADIAN CHAMPION STAFF At 13, Martin Matinov - having just moved to tawn - jalned the Marlîns with only a basic knowk.dgcof swêmmlritg and even less under- standing of the fundarnentals of compettion. And boy dld it show. 'l wes Ue a walrus out there.. .splashing amund anc not even knowing how to flop praperly, adfritted the now 1 7-year-old Mâ- tolrm *My motheïr put me in- it (competitive swirnming) when she was looking araund for a gop for my M*l sister to pin. She saw a sàgn for the Merlins andf dxhgl:, Martin knows bow to swim frorn Ns lessons at the Y - hffe' sone'tfig to keep him busy Tbose fit few proctices were humbling. 1 swarn prutt badly. I -a lie a new born bby in the wat. Coach James Srough cent help but agree wlth that less-tban-flattein assessmew. OMartir was a lot. starter comparec ta a lot of otbers wêth the club and, honestty, I didn't know what we were gorog ta do with him * SunI WMorénov wasnt qolng to get discouraged and/or quit an himself, rieibher was Srough. It wasn't long before that resolve begmn showing significant: dMvdends. For what the local swimmr laced in ecpcr- tise, h. more thon mode up for in potentWu and - equally Important - a willlngness to Wlîtfin about three months he was showing massive improve- ment and when we'd ask for a corrvect(ion <liis technique), we saw that corectlo« re- called-Brougtt «Then at his fist central regicmals in February (of 2011),itwas lfke&Wow The way t* cornpectd we knew we were onto something'7 What Marinov is onto now is Mbi sorncthlng precious few Marlins have achicved - a trip ta the national teani trials next week ini Vctoria, B.C. 11w freestyle sp.ciamst solidif,.d that berth lot. last rnantb with a club record and per- sonol best 2331-second effort in the short course SO-metre preliminarles of the Speedo Eastern Cmnodian Championships in Windsor. Adking signiflicarit distwice ta Ns striae in re- cent monthds - now needing just 19 strokes ta comfplete the 5Oin whefe 23 were required at the start of the scason - Marinov showed this personal-best performance didnt came aut of the blue, as he essentali3ched l (finishing au 23.32s) in the eveffWals ta place fou rth. 'T'hat consistericy was really crn- couraging7 remarked Brough, whose had just two local swim- mers - John Swan in 2012 and now Marlnov - quallf for Tri- aIs in bis eight years wvith the Marins )en Porenta (2004) is the only other club mcm ber to reach that level in recent mcmn- ory. «Thc big thing in swimniing is bcing able ta bring your best ef~r wbcn tl matters most. and he did that » _____ Of course tht Milton District 1119h Schoal 11th grader, wha beau bis previous record by a quarter of a sec- ond, has proven ta be quite prosperous under hégh-stakes pressure. His flrst central regional charnpéons;hip netted an age-class national quali!in tUme, anod hes been a regular on the provincial and national stage - and regularly loweurig Ns personal-best swims in the free- st*l and butterly - ever since. Thas came with no shartage of sacrifice, wben you consider bis weekiy morning prac- I team trialsI tîces begin long before thie suns corne up. a and that white Ns friends are headlng off ta parties and social engagements on a Frlday r evenlng Marinov is pulling two-hour stints at Milton Sports Centre. 'Tm pretty motlvated. I doVt want ta, look back- on Ngh school as havlng just gone through i.! 1 want ta b. able ta say I really pushed myself," said the Merlins standout who% tried his hasid at a haif-doze other sports - includmng bas- ketball, golf and karate - but always favoured swimming. »Swimmings ane of those sports that you reell need to b. comm<tte ta in terms of Urne and effort. That's what I enjoy' While not requiring much motivation from others, Marinov stresses that hes galned a lot1 of insight into Urne management and hlgh-- stakes sports discipline frani his father Mitko, who in his native Bulgaria was a solid (but too small for stardom> volicybaîl pLayer on the sports urivclity scene. CL »Helsheîped me a lot, said the youngcr Ma- Set ta go Up against the countrys top swim- mers, Marlnov isnot expecting ta crack the national squad for this surmers Common- wealth Games. At least flot this trne around. «This time is ail about thie experience.' h. sald. * k pt $a10 04woy dd-on* *~~~4 wthe puchaw of a i1I * ~~qijafying Lennox- system ~W E UP TO Sm1 IN H!A11N AMO COMUN W4CUNTWEM- ............................ ... .. .. .. . . .. .. .. . il ;f~ ï , ~ 4ç r~ ~~ o~i,1S P ~C ~!%~~1I ftt c*su a ~mni - I Fun fom the Wle Fmiyl En>oy musicians. artisans. buicrs and communfty groups - there's sornettîlng for everyone! * 1o stages Wbtl music. dance ands more! *Kidz Zone *Over 100vendors " Restauran id oulWo " Particpating downtown business« open lot Be part of the over 90-memnber teamn thtat heps manub oyant a sucess. Chaose trom several positions: * Salley olhocer - Green Teamn member " Valunteer Centre assistant e Barricade atle * Welcomo Cente attondant * Runner Houri can be usied toward high school valunteer requirements. Voluntemr under 16 years of age must b. accompanied by an aduit. AI volurileers must attend a mandatory training session on May 20 or 22. Visit the festival website for applications and additioal information. I.. ftr«t ffl