Jade Hannah of the Swimming Canada High Performance Centre-Victoria is making the 2019 FINA world junior aquatics championships her own personal splash pool.
The 17-year-old won her second gold medal of the world juniors in Budapest, taking the women’s 200-metre backstroke Thursday in a personal best 2:09.28, to follow up her gold medal from Wednesday in the 100-metre backstroke.
The Claremont student had to overcome injuries this season to twice reach the top of the podium. Hannah also has a relay bronze medal from the worlds.
“I had a rough start to the beginning of the season after coming off an injury,” she said in a statement.
She gave props to the support she receives from the High Performance Centre at Saanich Commonwealth Place.
“I worked with our mental performance consultant, the coaches and support staff,” said Hannah, a two-time finalist as a 16-year-old in the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
“So, I thank them all 1,000 times for all their help. Because I was able to come back like this, I have a new appreciation for swimming now. I don’t take anything for granted.”
Hannah is contributing to what has been a year of boffo medal hauls for swimmers from Saanich Commonwealth Place.
That includes University of Victoria athlete-of-the-year Danielle Hanus, who won four silver medals this month at the 2019 Lima Pan American Games, and Pac-12 NCAA Arizona Wildcats-bound Claremont grad Faith Knelson, who won Pan Am Games silver and bronze in Lima.
Also part of the Saanich Commonwealth Place mix are Mackenzie Padington, Jeremy Bagshaw, Jon McKay, Chantel Jeffrey and Eric Hedlin, all who represented Canada this summer in the 2019 FINA world aquatics championships in South Korea, with the veteran Hedlin winning 5K open-water bronze.
