THUNDER BAY – SPORTS – This past weekend 17 ThunderBolt swimmers travelled to Minneapolis, Minnesota to compete in the Aquajet Invitational Swim Meet. They competed against 23 swim clubs from Massachusetts, Iowa, Wisconsin, South Dakota and Minnesota.
The Bolts returned home with 25 medals: 10 gold, 3 silver and 12 bronze.
“It was critically important to finish the season with a successful swim meet,” stated a satisfied Head Coach Tommaso Panizza. “I was very pleased by the results and I was extraordinarily happy with the team spirit that was demonstrated. It was fantastic seeing the young Bolts standing beside senior Bolts cheering their teammates on,” added Panizza.
Returning home with 7 gold medals was Luke Foulds. Completing his final swim meet as a twelve-year-old he broke three ThunderBolt records and swam a number of best times.
“I was pretty happy about my last swims as a 12-year-old,” said Luke Foulds. “It was my first time at the Minnesota pool and I was very pleased with my experience there. I also can’t wait to start the next season as a 13-year-old for the Thunder Bay Thunderbolts,” added Foulds.
Swimming his final swim meet as a full-time ThunderBolt before heading off to McMaster University to swim for the Marauders was Cameron Johnsen. Johnsen finished on a high note with a gold in the 100 m Breaststroke and two silver medals in the 50 m and 100 m Freestyle events.
“What made me the happiest was my strong final session”, said Cameron Johnsen, captain of the ThunderBolts Swim Club. “It was fantastic swimming my last session under new coach Panniza to win the 100 m Breaststroke and achieve best times in all three of my final events,” added Johnsen.
Other outstanding swims and medal winners were Kaitlyn Luu(1 gold, 5 bronze),
Hannah Johnsen(1 gold, 1 silver, 1bronze), Sam Chisholm(4 bronze), Molly Hunt(1 bronze), and Matthew Foulds (1 bronze).
Also travelling to Minneapolis and competing were Emma Andamson, Maryam Anvar, Zoe Aylward, Nikolas Black, Max Chisholm, Leo Fay, Scott Fay, Isabel Harri, Zoe Hunt and Emily Murphy.
“I am pleased with the 2018-2019 swim season. We really ended on a high note,” said Panizza. I can’t wait for September and for next season to start!”
