The Olds Rapids swim club has a pair of Paralympic hopefuls on its roster.
Ian and Angela Lowther are from Crossfield and have been swimming with the Rapids since the fall. They have also been swimming with Special Olympics Airdrie.
Angela, 15, has already qualified for the Para-swimming trials, held in Toronto this April. She did so by making time in the 100-metre breaststroke at a recent meet in Red Deer.
"She works hard, listens very well and stays very motivated and motivates everybody in her lane with her positive attitude," said Rapids coach Graeme Gordon.
Her brother Ian, 17, has one more shot to qualify for the qualifier when he swims at a meet this weekend in Lethbridge.
Ian competes in the 200 m freestyle and needs to make two minutes and forty seconds.
Gordon said that at the Red Deer meet, Ian's goggles filled up, forcing him to stop and adjust them. As a result, his time was three minutes.
He said they've been doing a lot of interval training to reduce that time.
Also, improving Ian's starts have been a priority, which Gordon said were more like bellyflops than dives.
"When he first joined the Olds Rapids, his start wasn't great. He was dropping his knee, and he was getting his leg into water before actually diving in. Now we have his legs behind him and he's diving properly," he said.
"If he can nail the start and if he can nail the turns, it can be a good chance for him to qualify."
Because both swimmers are so young, Gordon said he just wants the two to focus on getting experience and learning how to swim under pressure.
