Aug. 3, 2010
Texas A&M swimmers Julia Wilkinson have named to Canada's 2010 Pan Pacific Championships team, Swimming Canada announced.
Dodds and Wilkinson were named to the 52-member Canada squad after qualifying at last week's Canadian Summer National Championships. The pair will compete at the Pan Pac Championships at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center in Irvine, Calif., on Aug. 18-22.
Dodds, who will be a senior for the 2010-11 Aggies, earned her spot on the team by virtue of a runner-up finish in the 400-meter IM in a personal best time of 4:45.97, and also placed fifth in the 200 IM.
Wilkinson, who finished her A&M eligibility last spring, won national titles in the 200 freestyle and the 50 backstroke, and had a runner-up finish in the 200 IM.
The Canadians will be led by 18 Olympians and 23 members of last year's World Aquatic Championships.
“This is really exciting young team and a great group of veterans who will be the backbone of this team,” said National Coach and CEO of Swimming Canada, Pierre Lafontaine. “The great thing is that we're surrounding the next generation of Olympians for 2012-16 with the best.”
At the last Pan Pacific Championships, Canada collected a total of seven medals, 2 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze. World Champion Brent Hayden grabbed two individual medals for Canada, the gold in the 100-meter freestyle and bronze in the 50-meter freestyle. It was also a podium debut for Ryan Cochrane, winning the bronze in the 800 free.
At the 2010 edition of the Pacific Championships in Irvine, Lafontaine is looking at making a strong showing in finals.
“We need to compose the finals with more than the five, six of the usual swimmers. This will be a strong meet and will be really exciting with the all the top countries. It's going to a great way for us to evaluate where we're at two years before the Olympics.”