Alec Page and Alexa Komarnycky took it to the house in their own house Thursday night.
The Island Swim Club/Victoria Academy pair used home-pool advantage to win the respective men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 400-metre IM events at Saanich Commonwealth Place in the Canadian trials for the 2013 FINA world aquatics championships July 19-Aug. 4 in Barcelona.
So it鈥檚 time to cross the Atlantic again. Komarnycky and Page, among the 48聽Island athletes who competed in the 2012 London Summer Olympics, are on their way to Spain.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great to have my family here and to be able to sleep in my own bed,鈥� Page said of competing in his home pool and winning in 4:18.06.
The 400 IM will be the Cortes Island native鈥檚 second event at Barcelona, after having qualified for the 4x200 freestyle relay team Wednesday.
鈥淚鈥檓 glad I got [qualification] out of the way on the first day of the trials. That took a lot of pressure off tonight in the 400 IM,鈥� said Page, a Claremont Secondary grad and first-year University of Victoria student.
Komarnycky made it on the team to London 鈥� in the 800-metre freestyle 鈥� on the final day of the Olympic trials last year in Montreal.
鈥淚 missed the team in the 400 IM last year, and it broke my heart. This is great redemption,鈥� said Komarnycky, who won Thursday in 4:41.65.
鈥淚鈥檓 definitely happy to get on the team right away this year.鈥�
Komarnycky is swimming five events at the world trials.
鈥淚鈥檓 taking it one race at a time,鈥� she said.
Page, equally versatile, also has a heavy workload this week.
鈥淚鈥檝e got to be smart about it and recover well,鈥� he said.
It was in his Grade 11-12 years at Dover Bay Secondary that another Island swimmer, Tommy Gossland, forsook other sports to concentrate on swimming. That decision carried the Nanaimo product to the London Olympics. Now it will take him to Barcelona.
Swimming before several family members in the large gallery, Gossland (50.50 seconds) finished second to Joel Greenshields of Edson, Alta. (50.36) in the men鈥檚 100-metre freestyle final. Because sa国际传媒 has qualified its relay team for the 4x100 freestyle at the world championships, the top four finishers in the event Thursday night advanced to Barcelona. Joining Greenshields and Gossland on the worlds relay squad will be third-place finisher Hassaan Abdel-Khalik of Etobicoke, Ont., and fourth-place Luke Peddie of Edmonton.
鈥淚t鈥檚 such a relief,鈥� Gossland said.
鈥淚 put pressure on myself but stuck to my game plan. [Heading into the trials], I felt out of the picture.鈥�
But the kid stays in the picture as the only returning member of the Olympic 4x100 freestyle team from London.
鈥淥ur goal is to make the final in Barcelona,鈥� said the 23-year-old Gossland.
The trials continue today at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and conclude Saturday.
