Former Fort Frances Aquanaut Heather Dutton took part in the prestigious Mel Zajac Jr. swim meet in Vancouver over the weekend, improving on some personal best times.
Dutton, a third-year psychology and kinesiology student at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, has remained there for the past two summers to train with the LA Swim Club and take part in summer events.
“The Mel Zajac meet attracts a lot of high-end swimmers,” said Dutton’s father, John. “The majority of the Australian and Canadian swim teams were there, so she’s sort of in the middle pack at this particular meet.
“She’s happy with her times, but she also knows she’s up against some of the best swimmers in the world,” he added.
Dutton placed 35th in the 200m fly, clocking a time of 2:30:51—three seconds off her previous best in that event.
She also placed 69th in the 100m backstroke in a time of 1:13:64, then followed that up with a solid 28th-place finish in the 100m fly with a time of 1:07:31.
Dutton has a busy summer ahead, training steadily with meets in between.
“Her next meet has her in Montana in a yards pool [not metres], so it will be tough to gauge her results there, but then she has senior provincials in Edmonton in June and the senior nationals in Winnipeg in July,” her father noted.
“Her plan is to finally come home after that meet in Winnipeg.”
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
