Former Canadian Olympian Kelly Stefanyshyn, the operations director for the 2016 World Short Course Swimming Championships, was honored with the first plunge in the temporary pool being used to host next week’s championships.
Stefanyshyn represented Canada at the 2000 Summer Olympics where she was a part of Canada’s 6th-place 400 free relay and finished 8th in the 200 back individually. She also won two World Short Course Championship medals at the 1999 event in Hong Kong: silver in the 100 back and bronze in the 200 back.
Courtesy: FINA
“It really has this racing feeling, with the lights and the size. The arena feels different,”she described. “I have been working hard for more than a year on this project now. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve when I see the progress of the transformation in the Centre. I am here from 7am until late everyday so I get very excited that all is getting together so nicely.”
Final preparations of the two-week transformation are underway in the days before championships that run from December 6th-11th. The pool, filled with 1300 tonnes of water, is built on top of the hockey rink traditionally home to the Windsor Spitfires of the minor league Ontario Hockey League.
The last steps in the process include hiding the last of the hockey logos and installing the timing system.
A live stream of the pool is being maintained and can be watched below: