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Canadian Adam Wu, also known as Yu Tong Wu, has announced his verbal commitment to swim and study at Columbia University beginning in the 2022-2023 season. Wu is from Surrey, British Columbia, where he attended Fraser Heights Secondary School and swims with the Surrey Knights Swim Club. He is a multi-time finalist at the Canadian Swimming Trials, and has been named to the Canadian Junior National Team.
I am thrilled to be announcing my commitment to Columbia University. I am grateful for all the relationships I have and would like to thank everyone I know for the special memories they have given me. I can’t wait to begin the next chapter of my life surrounded with new people and a new environment. ROAR!
Wu competes in a variety of events, including all distances of freestyle, butterfly, and occasionally backstroke. He has competed in a variety of prestigious events such as the Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials, Speedo Canadian Championships, Bell Canadian Swimming Trials, and the Mel Zajac Jr. International Meet. As a member of the 2022 Canadian Junior team, he will be competing in Hawaii at the PAN Pacific Swimming Championships which will be held from August 24-27.
Best Times LCM (Converted to SCY):
- 200 free- 1:51.12 (1:37.22)
- 400 free- 3:54.81 (4:23.09)
- 800 free- 8:13.09 (9:12.48)
- 1500 free- 15:47.35 (15:28.77)
- 100 back- 56.26 (49.60)
- 100 fly- 55.00 (48.28)
- 200 fly- 2:00.67 (1:46.18)
At the 2022 Canadian Swimming Trials, Wu competed in the 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1500 meter freestyles, 100 back, 100 fly and 200 fly, showing off impressive range. He qualified for and competed in the finals for each event besides the 50 free. His highest finish came in the 200 butterfly, where he qualified for the A-final and took 4th place overall, posting a 2:01.21, less than half a second behind his time from the Canadian Olympic Trials.
In the 1500 meter freestyle, he finished in 5th place with a time of 15:47.35, setting a new personal best by over 3 seconds. In the 800, he placed 6th with an 8:15.22. In addition to the 200 fly, Wu also qualified for the A-final in the 100 backstroke and 400 freestyle, where he finished 6th and 5th, respectively. He won the C-final of the 200 free with a time of 1:52.12, exactly one second away from his best.
Columbia University, located in New York City, is a Division I program that competes in the Ivy League Conference. At the 2022 Ivy League Championships, the Columbia men came in 5th place out of the 8 teams.
Although Wu does not have racing experience in short course yards, his LCM times and personal accomplishments suggest that he will be a valuable asset to Columbia. Using his best LCM times converted to SCY, he would have placed 9th in the 200 fly at last year’s conference championships. That would make him the second finisher for Columbia, behind Seungjoon Ahn who finished 3rd. In the 500 free, Ahn was once again Columbia’s top finisher, coming in 14th. With Wu’s converted 400 meter free time, he would have just edged out Ahn for 14th.
Columbia’s head coach, Jim Bolster, has been leading the lions since 1984. Over the last decade, Bolster has led Columbia swimmers to 14 Ivy League titles and coached seven NCAA qualifiers. In addition to Wu, Bolster will welcome Matthew Lou, Brain Lee, Seth Roach, Sam Eckert, Zion James, and Michael Zhang to campus in the fall.
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