The University of Manitoba Bisons took to the pool this past weekend for the 2021 Canada West swimming championships.
The event headlined a three-day meet with races staggered throughout the weekend. The Bisons were well represented all three days by swimmers in the men’s and the women’s categories.
Kelsey Wog and Dora Modrcin in particular were superstars, both finishing high in their respective categories.
Modrcin finished third in the 50-metre butterfly, third in the 100-metre freestyle relay, second in the 100-metre backstroke and first in the 50-metre backstroke. Wog finished third in the 100- and 200-metre freestyle relay, first in the 200-metre individual medley and first in the 50, 100- and 200-metre breaststroke.
Other notable performances included Hannah Schanel finishing second in the 50-metre freestyle and Daniel Boguski finishing second in the men’s 50- and 100-metre freestyle.
With the weekend wrapped up, nobody’s swimming career is more impressive than Wog’s.
She started by swimming in the Youth Olympic Games in 2014. There she placed fifth, sixth and eighth in various swimming events.
Wog then moved on to the FINA world championships in 2016, where she placed second in the 200-metre breaststroke.
In the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, she competed in the women’s 100- and 200-metre breaststroke. Her 23rd and 16th place finishes prove that she can compete with the best of the best around the world.
Wog said the experience is a huge boon when competing in events such as the Canada West championships.
“My Olympic experience is key when swimming,” Wog said.
“To improve constantly, you have to compete against the best and I feel that is important. By swimming in the Olympics, it has allowed me to better myself and learn a lot from other swimmers.”
Although she would like to finish first in every event she participates in, that will not always be the case. She did extremely well in such a highly competitive event.
“This feels amazing to participate in an event like this.”
