There is a landlord near Saanich Commonwealth Place who will have quite the connection to the 2012 London Summer Olympics.
Julia Wilkinson, who shares a home in the Royal Oak area with several elite athletes including Olympic triathlon medal-favoured Paula Findlay, stamped her ticket to London by winning the women's 100-metre backstroke Wednesday on the second day of the Canadian Olympic swimming trials in Montreal.
"I did a lot to work on my nerves," said Wilkinson, as she addressed the Olympic Pool crowd of 6,000 over the PA system following the race in which she clocked 59.85 seconds. "I didn't throw up before the race. So that was encouraging."
Maybe Island Club/Victoria Academy clubmate Stefan Hirniak felt like doing just that - but afterward. The favoured Hirniak was stunned in the men's 200-metre butterfly, fading to fourth place as little-known David Sharpe of Halifax was the shock winner from the eighth lane. It was the second consecutive Olympic trials collapse for Hirniak, the Canadian record holder, who also failed to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Summer Games in an upset.
In a riveting 1-2 Island Club/Victoria Academy finish, Stephanie Horner outduelled clubmate Alexa Komarnycky to the wall. Horner is London-bound but not Komarnycky.
"Alexa and I are really good training partners [at Saanich Commonwealth Place] and I'm really sad for her," said Horner.
Horner and Wilkinson joined Island Swim Club/Victoria Academy clubmates Alec Page and Blake Worsley from Day 1 - along with pre-qualified Beijing Olympic-medallist Ryan Cochrane - as the club's London qualifiers to date.
Today's third day will be televised live on Sportsnet at 4 p.m. PDT.
