“An exciting time for Canadian Swimming”

Sinéad Russell of Dolphins will represent Canada at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India in October

Sinéad has qualified to represent Canada in the: 50, 100 & 200 Back as well as the 200 IM.

She is the second swimmer from the Dolphins Swim Club to represent Canada at the Commonwealth Games, following her brother Colin Russell's team position in 2006 where he was a 2-time finalist and Bronze Medalist in the Men's 4x100 free relay.

IRVINE, California – Following a successful Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine California, Swimming Canada is pleased to announced the twenty seven strong swimmers nominated to represent Canada at the up coming Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.

 
The Canadian squad was selected based on performances at the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships and the 2010 IPC World Para-Swimming Championships.
 
“Our swimmers have demonstrated great Canadian pride over the past weeks,” said CEO and National Coach for Swimming Canada, Pierre Lafontaine.  “We have had strong medal performances at the Pan Pacs and the IPC Worlds, while also seeing many of our swimmers are knocking on doors, to make that extra step onto the podium.”
 
“It’s quite an exciting time for Canadian Swimming as we head into the Commonwealth Games and the second half of the quadrennial.”
 
The following swimmers have been nominated to Commonwealth Games Canada to represent Canada at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.
 
The men’s team will feature: (Name, Age, Residence, Hometown) Ryan COCHRANE, 20, Victoria, BC, Victoria, BC; Scott DICKENS, 25, Vancouver, BC, Burlington, On; Andrew FORD, 21, Guelph, ON, Guelph, ON; Charles FRANCIS, 21, Montréal, QC, Cowansville, QC; Brent HAYDEN, 26, Vancouver, BC, Mission, BC; Stefan HIRNIAK, 25, Victoria, BC, New Brunswick, NJ; Richard HORTNESS, 25, London, ON, Medicine Hat, Alta.; Benoit HUOT, 26, Longueuil, QC, Montréal, QC; Brian JOHNS, 27, Vancouver, BC, Richmond, BC; Tobias ORIWOL, 25, Toronto, ON, Pointe-Claire, QC; Sean PENHALE, 22, Victoria, BC, Red Deer, AB; Blake WORSLEY, 22, Victoria, BC, Denver, COL.
 
The women’s will comprise of: (Name, Age, Residence, Hometown) Geneviève CANTIN, 19, Québec, QC, Saguenay, QC; MacKenzie DOWNING, 23, Victoria, BC, Whitehorse, YK; Barbara JARDIN, 19, Montréal, QC, Montréal, QC; Alexa KOMARNYCKY, 20, Victoria, BC, Etobicoke, ON; Audrey LACROIX, 25, Montréal, QC, Pont-Rouge, QC; Lauren LAVIGNA, 21, Vancouver, BC, Burnaby, BC; Martha MCCABE, 20, Vancouver, BC, Toronto, ON; Erica MORNINGSTAR, 21, Calgary, AB, Calgary, AB; Annamay PIERSE, 26, Vancouver, BC, Edmonton, AB; Victoria POON, 25, Lasalle, QC, Hong Kong, China; Katarina ROXON (S9), 17, Cornerbrook, NF, Stephenville, NF; Sinéad RUSSELL, 16, Oakville, ON, Burlington, ON; Geneviève SAUMUR, 22, Montréal, QC, Montréal, QC; Katerine SAVARD, 16, Pont-Rouge, Qc, Pont-Rouge, QC; Julia WILKINSON, 23, Victoria, BC, Stratford, ON;
 
Randy Bennett of Victoria will lead the team as head coach, assisted by Tom Johnson (Vancouver), Joszef Nagy (Vancouver), Benoit Lebrun (Montréal), Jan Bidrman (Calgary), Marc-Andre Pelletier (Cap Rouge, St-Augustin, Québec), Nicholas Perron (Québec) and Pierre Lamy (Montréal).
 
“We are very happy to welcome the twenty-seven swimmers to the Canadian Commonwealth Games team, said Canada’s Chef de Mission Martha Deacon, “With the overall great performances that we saw at the Pan Pacific Championships and IPC Worlds, we are quite excited to see them repeat that success in Delhi.”
 
For World Record holder Annamay Pierse of Edmonton, the Commonwealth Games are an important step towards her preparation towards London. “It’s another great opportunity to race against some of the best in the World,” said Pierse.  “On top of that, I’ve always wanted to go to India, so I’m really excited to represent Canada at the Games.”
 
Typically, the month of October marks the beginning of the season for elite swimmers.  But for former World Champion Brent Hayden of Mission, BC, “it’s not the fastest swimmer in the world that will win the race, it’s the best one who will adapt on that day and get his hand on the wall first.”  Hayden ended the 2009-10 season with the second fastest time in the World in the men’s 100 meter freestyle.
 
The Canadian swim team will head to Singapore for an 8-day staging camp, prior to arriving in Delhi on September 30th.
 
Pool competition starts on October 4th.