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Canadian Swimmer Julia Wilkinson

Breaking the 1-minute barrier

By Julia Wilkinson

Posted: Friday, March 30, 2012 | 10:30 AM

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Julia Wilkinson celebrates after winning the women's 100-metre backstroke at the Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials on Wednesday. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

I am no stranger to delayed gratification.
It's the life of a swimmer, at least after your 13th birthday when you stop dropping time every time you hit the water.
Every year, I spend countless hours training, but I am only in peak race preparation maybe twice every season. I spend a long time working on the details, with my fingers crossed that what I am doing will translate to my race by the time I taper.
That is why, after four long years of waiting, it was so sweet to finally break the one-minute barrier in the 100-metre backstroke en route to qualifying for my second Olympic team. That's right: I'm officially London-bound!
It's only day three of the six-day competition, and we have seen what Olympic trials are all about. In the first event on day one, my young (18-year-old) teammate from the Victoria Academy of Swimming, Alec Page, won the 400m individual medley and saw his Olympic dream come true. When I saw that he had defeated the field and qualified for the team, I thought my heart was going to explode with pride. Alec is a swimmer who loves to race, works harder than almost everyone I know, and has so much talent it's scary.
I was so proud of how he kept his head up walking out for his first ever Olympic trials final, stepping onto the blocks with a huge smile on his face, and racing to win. And win he did.
On day two, I was searching the stands for my parents when I met a family who introduced me to their young son and daughter. Their daughter, also a competitive swimmer (in backstroke) wanted so much to see me swim that her parents drove all the way from Burlington, Ont. to Montreal for my race.
After hearing their story, I found myself in a whole new mindset. I remembered when I was her age, when my Olympic dream was just that: a dream. As much as this little girl thinks I am an inspiration, meeting her really inspired me more than she'll ever know. As I sat in that big red double-decker bus (our elaborate ready-room before the race) waiting for our event to be marched out, I thought of that family in the stands. I knew there was no way I could let them down. This is something that I will carry with me to London.
Not all fun at Games
But, it's not all fun at Olympic trials. It is heartbreaking as well.
A few of my teammates' swims have not gone their way, and have not yet been able to autograph the bus (all the qualifiers so far have signed their names on the double-decker). As happy as I am for myself, I can't help but carry some of their frustration as well. I saw how hard they worked every day, in the lane beside me, or even leading me through a hard set. And it just wasn't their day on race day. That being said, there isn't a single swimmer from my group who is out of the meet yet, and I have one hundred per cent faith in their ability to bounce back from anything. We're tough out on the island.
Obviously, there is little time for me to celebrate, since I still have three races to swim: the 200 individual medley, the 100 freestyle and the 200 backstroke. My win in the 100 backstroke did more than put me on the Olympic team -- it won me my freedom on day three of the competition.
Since I swam a fast 200 freestyle at the Missouri Grand Prix, my coach Randy Bennett decided that I could be considered as an option for the 4x200 freestyle relay in London without competing in the race at Olympic trials as long as I was already on the team. You are allowed to have a total of six girls swim the Olympic relay: only two from prelims will swim again, allowing two girls to be rested for the final. Obviously I will have a better idea of my chances for the relay after seeing the times posted by the women in the final, but either way, I am very happy with the decision to scratch from the race. Now I can be more focused and fresher for the 200 IM on Friday.
Three more days, three more races. Now that the pressure of making the team is off my shoulders, I can focus on seeing how many more events I can add to my schedule in London.