)2 0 H A W ^ A i c v t u i ,< > K r A * r t W ***® Wednesday, April 26,2000 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER D1 LIVE ENTERTAINMENT Every Friday & Saturday! Ladies' Night Every Friday TRANSMISSION WADE SEYMOUR ASK ABOUT OUR FREE TOWING s o r t ie . . FRIDAY, APRIL 28 & SAT., APRIL 29 at 10pm S p o r t ^ l e d n e s d a y 559 S p e e rs R o a d , U n it 2 O a k v ille (between Fourth Line & Dorval) 8 4 4 -8 7 0 3 L .M .T . 842-0725 > An Oakville Beaver Feature Editor: NORM NELSON Phone:845-3824, ext 255 Fax:337-5567 E-mail:nnelson@haltonsearch.com Canada' s best seeks Olympic berth Oakville teen Andrew Hurd is Canada's best over 1500 metres, winning the last two national cham pionships, and he has his sights set on the this year's Sydney Olympics ... TOP PHOTO: a m em ber of the M ississauga A quatic Club, he was caught in action at a recent workout at Cawthra Pool ... BOTTOM PHOTO: his first national championship win earned him a trip to last sum m er's PanPacific Games in Sydney, Australia where he is seen in action here. He finished sev enth, overall, and was top Canadian. 17-year-old, Grade 12 OTHS student busy preparing for Canada's Olympic trials T As reigning Canadian 1500 m etre champion, Andrew Hurd "is the best C anada's here would have to be a pret ty good reason why someone seen in 10 years and he has _ _ would plunge into the water an excellent chance" of m ak at 5 a.m. six days a week to swim ing the O lym pic team, says 16,000 metres every day. his coach M ark Temple. . An opportunity to represent your SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER ideal candidate for marathon sw im ming. "He is very light in the water and has very good leverage," says Temple. "His swim m ing econom y is excellent." As reigning Canadian 1500 metre champion, Andrew "is the best C anada's seen in 10 years and he has an excellent chance" o f making the Olympic team, says Temple. Andrew has loved sw im m ing as far back as he can remember. "He was doing lengths at four," says Karen. "He was quite a keener. He just loved it." Initially a member of the O akville Aquatic C lub's Olympic Way pro gram, Andrew now swims out of the M ississauga Aquatic Club. He has tried most other sports, as have his three siblings, but swimming was always num ber one. "I have always loved swim m ing," he says. He has burned up the waters since focusing on this event and reaching his first national standard time at the age o f 15. Last year, at age 16, he placed third at the spring nationals in Victoria, BC. By the tim e the sum m er nationals rolled around, how ev er, he had shaved 27 seconds off his best time, good enough for the gold medal and qualifying him for the prestigious Pan-Pacific Gam es iri Sydney A ustralia last August where he placed seventh overall and ahead o f the other Canadians. Since then, Andrew has picked up a bronze medal at a World Cup m eet in Edm onton last N ovem ber and won another gold medal in the 1500m at the recent spring nationals in Etobicoke. The upcom ing O lym pics trials run M ay 28th to June 4th in M ontreal. Currently A ndrew 's fastest time is 15:30; to qualify, he m ust come in at 15:26. And so the hours and hours of training continue both at Cawthra Park and the University o f Toronto. Day in day out, stroke after stroke. The Hurds put 1,000 kilom etres on their car per week, but of course, it's all worth it. "Not only is he driven, I see all his friends and they love it, they work really hard. It is gruelling," says Karen. By Kathy Yanchus Photo by Peter J. Thompson Photo Special to the Beaver country at the 2000 Olympics might be the best one. Welcome to Andrew Hurd's life, a disciplined schedule of eating, swim ming and sleep. Oh yes, and school. Twice a day, for a total o f six hours, the 17-year-old elite athlete puts him self through gruelling lengths under the meticulous eye of coach M ark Temple. And while his Grade 12 classes at Oakville Trafalgar High School have been cut to accommodate his swimming schedule, Andrew works through lunches and spares to complete assignments. His waking hours are draining and must be balanced with sufficient rest and calories to offset the extreme degree o f exertion. He eats seven times each day, consuming high levels of carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables, and collapses into bed after dinner. "It's not that bad once you get used to it," said an exhausted Andrew. It's focus, says his mom Karen, and even she is amazed at his exhaustive physical efforts and those o f his swimming buddies. "It's tremendous work to get there and all these kids work that hard," comments Karen. With Olympic trials looming late next month, the workload and con centration intensifies. With his goal of participating in the Olympic Games firmly in sight and with an excellent chance o f reaching it. Andrew is pushing him self to the limit. "M otivation is extremely impor tant," says coach Temple. "The event is so long, it's an ongoing process of talking to yourself." Mental discipline is equally as important as physical conditioning, the coach adds. The com bination of those skills affords the athlete the ability to continue during the tough est times. At this top level, Andrew is "pretty much on his own within his own psyche." But in the darkest hours, if Andrew had not reconciled within his mind why he puts him self through this brutal routine every day, he w ouldn't be where he is now, says Temple. Because of his small frame -- Andrew is 6 ' 1", 150 lbs. -- he is an Dolphins qualify two for Olympic trials, another is close The Oakville Dolphins swim club finished sec ond overall at the recent Ontario division three team champi onships which attracted 42 swimming clubs and 700 swim mers. The Dolphins are led by Craig Ross and Craig Lund who have both qualified for Canada's upcom ing Olympic tri als and one other swimmer, Doug Fleming, who is only l/10th of a second off. (See Dolphins', D3) Six Olympic hopefuls Oakville swimmers looked good breaking club records and mak ing new best times at the recent short course (25 metre pool) junior provincials held at the Etobicoke Olympium. Under the direction of head coach Lucie Hewitt-Henderson and senior coach Alex Wallingford, the team of 11 to 16 year olds fin ished fourth overall out of 64 teams, just behind the three biggest clubs in Ontario. Individually, garner ing high point honours, Joe Bajcar -- who had a stellar meet -- fin ished second, Kate Plyley (despite limited events) tied for third, Marco Monaco finished fifth and Kimmi Labbett (See 'OAC', D3) Kate Plyley set a meet record at the youth provincials. She's one of seven Oakville Aquatic Club members with berths at the Olympic trials. ; Ross (left) and Craig Lund (centre) have qualified for the Olympic trials while Doug Fleming is a fraction off. Photo by Barrie Erskine »< G e g e 's 844-4711 SUPER SPECIAL DSUNDAY SPECIAL IGEGE S SPECIAL 2 Large Pizzas Limited Time Offer (Sauce 6Cheese) Extra Topping $1.85 · For Delivery Adel $1.45 Pizza $ 10" 10 Slice Pizza 1 Item 2 Medium Pizzas 4 Toppings on Each Limited Tune Offer Upgrade to a Large for onlv $3.00 For delivery add $1.45_____ $ 4 . 9 9 Limited Time Offer $1K99 Pick-up Only