Sarah Schmick, a para and Special Olympics swimmer with the Olds Rapids Swim Club, won a silver medal during the 2019 Alberta Summer Championships.
The championships were held July 4-7 in Edmonton.
Sarah participated in seven categories, including girls' 100-metre (m) breastroke. She earned 225 points, resulting in the silver medal.
With that championship behind her, Sarah is now preparing to compete in the Western Canada Summer Games, which will be held Aug. 9-18 in Swift Current.
During an interview with the Albertan, Sarah's mother, Susan Schmick, spoke on Sarah's behalf, due to her disability.
Schmick said that her daughter had a good experience during the Alberta Summer Championships.
“It was good; hard work, long days,” Schmick said.
She said her daughter was first alternate for the finals and was just three-one-hundredths of a second away from qualifying for the finals of the mixed 100 m freestyle category.
“It was that close between her and the other gal,” Schmick said. “It’s great swimmers there; they’re able-bodied para swimmers. This is the big event for Alberta, this is the top. The elite swimmers are there for Alberta and it was a lot of fun.”
Sarah joined the local swim club recently but has been swimming competitively for nine years.
Schmick said leading up to events like the championships, Sarah gets nervous, even if she doesn’t show it.
“I think she does get a little nervous, but isn’t always able to verbalize it in a way that would come across clearly," she said. “For her, it might be that she says that she’s not hungry, or she says that she’s too tired — things like that.
“But I believe that what it is, is that she does have butterflies and she is nervous but can’t maybe describe it to me that ‘I’m a little nervous about my races this weekend.’ That’s a little bit perhaps hard for her to say,” Schmick explained.
Schmick said her daughter is looking forward to competing in the Western Canada Summer Games.
“She’s very excited about going to the Games,” Schmick said. “She’s again going to be with coach Wendy Nelson who’s been at higher level events with Sarah. So she’s excited about being with her and she’s competing with some teammates she’s been with before.”
Schmick said Sarah is dedicated to the sport of swimming and that Rapids head coach Cecilia Wessels has been "very generous and kind" in preparing her for the Games.
Schmick said Sarah enjoyed having her brother there at the Provincials, along with friends, to cheer her on.
She rewarded herself with Junior Mints.
