Lindsay Seemann- Athlete of the Week !
Newmarket swimmer accepts NCAA scholarship
Sports
December 22, 2009 02:50 PM
John Cudmore
Some would suggest Lindsay Seemann has it all backward. Perhaps even upside down.
Which maybe she does, come to think of it, since she is a backstroke specialist when in the pool competing on behalf of the Newmarket Stingrays.
Just to add to the confusion, the Newmarket resident is returning Down Under for a third time in her career later this month as a member of Canada’s junior national team.
Not many high school students can lay claim to an Olympic Games berth before reaching the tender age of 16. Nor can many refer to an NCAA scholarship as a follow-up prize. It’s usually the other way around.
“No, there’s not many at all, just me and Savannah King the last time, so it’s rare,” said Seemann, of her fellow Canadian Olympian who is actually a couple of months older, making Seemann the youngest Canadian athlete at the Beijing Olympics.
Nevertheless, the Grade 12 student at Newmarket High School is off to the University of Arizona in Tucson next year where she has accepted a scholarship and will compete for the Wildcats’ women’s swim team. She is expected to swim in distance freestyle events, medleys and her specialty, backstroke, for the Wildcats program which finished second in the NCAA women’s championships in 2009 after winning the title the previous year for both women and men.
“Arizona has a very impressive swim program and there’s a few Canadians down there that were at the Olympics with me,” she said referring to Jake Tapp and Joel Greenshields, already members of the Pac-10 Conference’s squad.
The last time the world gathered for the Olympics a little more than two years ago for the summer version, Seemann was part of the show. When the world gathers in Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics, she intends to enjoy television coverage of the sports spectacle armed with a unique insiders’ perspective.
“I’m obviously interested, just in the whole atmosphere and having been part of it,” said Seemann, now 17, who competed in the 200-backstroke in Beijing. “Even the Winter Olympics are more exciting to me than four years ago.
“I’ll probably watch all that I can when I have the opportunity. I have no real favourites.”
Seemann attend the Olympic Torch Relay celebration ceremonies last week at the Magna Centre in Newmarket where she shared bows with several other former Olympians from Newmarket.
It has been a difficult season for Seemann. She has battled through swine flu, bronchitis and wisdom teeth issues.
“It’s been a rough start to the season, but things are coming around,“ she said. “I’ve been all over the map for the past month and a half.”
As for Australia, Seemann qualified for the national squad based on her performances at the Canadian senior national championships held in July. The Canadian team is scheduled to depart Dec. 27 and compete at the six-day New South Wales state championships. It is her second trip to Australia this year — she attended the Australia age group championships in April — and third overall.
“I love it there,” Seemann said. “They’re very serious about their swimming.”
Stingrays’ head coach Alan Swanston points out the difficulty in making consecutive Olympic teams but suggests having done it once is a huge edge.
“Lindsay has made other national teams since,” he pointed out. “She’ll have the opportunity to train with an excellent school. This is new and exciting so hopefully it will give her a little more spark. She has the will to win.”
