A swimmer from Greater Moncton is in Toronto as Canada’s best aquatic athletes compete for a spot on the Olympic team.

The 2024 games will be held in Paris in July 2024.

Will Franklin trains with the Codiac Vikings Aquatic Club based in Riverview, New Brunswick.

“When I was younger, I was trying a bunch of different sports and none of them really ever clicked. I tried football and baseball for a while. I really enjoyed swimming lessons and thought swimming was a lot of fun. So I tried doing it competitively, and I was pretty good at it. So I stuck with it.”

He never anticipated this would eventually lead to a possible shot at the Olympic team.

Image: Courtesy of Codiac Vikings Aquatic Club

“It kind of just snowballed. Every year I would get better and better standards. I think every single year I had gotten a better standard by the end of it,” Franklin says.

Few swimmers who train competitively get the chance to go to Olympics trials, but there is one thing Franklin recommends for those swimmers who have set their goals high, “Be confident, that’s something I never lacked. Even when I wasn’t the fastest or when I was really slow and had really bad days, it didn’t matter.”

Franklin says competitive swimming has a huge commitment.

“We did the math, and it turns out I’ve swam at least 5000 hours in practice, but do I regret it? I would say I don’t. I don’t think I always loved swimming. I always enjoyed it, but in the last couple of years, it’s been much more fun. I’ve gotten way better over time doing it,  especially in practice. So I haven’t regretted actually going.  The only thing I would regret is not trying as much in my first couple of years, but I still think I’ve put in more effort than anybody else.”

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Franklin swam the 100-metre backstroke at the Olympic trials on Tuesday. You’ll see him back in the pool as he swims 50-metre freestyle on Saturday at the Olympic trials.