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Local synchronized swimmers head to Prince George for Canada Winter Games

THUNDER BAY -- If Kaitlyn Krywy and Brianna Johnson aren’t in the pool, chances are the Thunder Bay teenagers can be found somewhere between their hometown and Winnipeg.
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Synchronized swimmers Kaitlyn Krywy (left) and Brianna Johnson will represent Team Manitoba later this week at the Canada Winter Games in Prince George, B.C. (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)

THUNDER BAY -- If Kaitlyn Krywy and Brianna Johnson aren’t in the pool, chances are the Thunder Bay teenagers can be found somewhere between their hometown and Winnipeg.

In Northern Ontario, it’s the only way the two can take their synchronized swimming careers to the next level.
Since October, the pair has made twice-monthly trips to Winnipeg to train with Team Manitoba’s synchronized swimming team that will take the pool in Prince George later this week and compete at the Canada Winter Games.

“It’s a lot of excitement and a lot of nerves too,” said the 16-year-old Krywy, a student at Hammarskjold High School.

“It’s the biggest competition that we’ve ever gone to and it’s probably, for most of us, as close to the Olympics as we’re going to get. It’s kind of like a mini-Olympics within Canada so it’s a pretty big deal.”

Fifteen-year-old Johnson, who attends Superior Collegiate Vocational Institute, said the hundreds of hours of training they’ve put in since being named to Team Manitoba last summer, have been worth every minute.

“It’s been my dream for a long time,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to go. It’s such an amazing experience.”

Their local club, Thunder Bay Synchro, chose to partner with Manitoba’s governing body for the sport out of necessity, it being easier and less expensive to travel to competitions in Winnipeg than southern Ontario.

But that leaves Johnson and Krywy on their own most of the time, left to practice their portion of the eight-member team routine by themselves.

“The hardest part for us is that we live in Thunder Bay and the rest of the team lives in Winnipeg. It’s one thing swimming a routine by yourself as a solo, but then putting it together and swimming in pattern with a lot of other people is the hardest part for us, because we don’t get that much opportunity,” said Krywy, who along with Johnson travelled last summer to California for enhanced training.

“It takes a lot of practice,” Johnson said.

Essentially they swim their own portion of the routine together in Thunder Bay, then perfect it with their teammates on their regular visits to Winnipeg, spending nine hours in the pool over the course of their weekend trip.

Not surprisingly, training eats up most of their spare time.

“Most of our practices are three to four hours in the water. As well we do a specific training program that everyone on the team has to do,” Krywy said.

That doesn’t include individual work or regular club practices, which are two hours long.

The payoff was worth it.

The duo is just the second and third synchronized swimmers from the Thunder Bay club to earn spots at the Canada Winter Games, a huge accomplishment said coach Lisa Butler.

“We’ve talked about it for many years,” Butler said. “They’ve worked really hard for many years and they did it. I’m so proud.”

The team preliminary competition is scheduled for Wednesday, while the final goes Friday.

 



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
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