HER EYES ON THE PRIZE
Olivia Lavallee is one of more than 300 competitors heading to the Down Syndrome World Swimming Championships. “I want to win a gold medal,” the 15-year-old told Stu Cowan.
Olivia Lavallee has a big, beautiful smile that can light up any room she enters.
From July 20 to 26, the 15-year-old will be lighting up the Rath Eastlink Community Centre in Truro, N.S. — along with more than 300 other competitors from approximately 25 countries — when she competes in the ninth Down Syndrome World Swimming Championships. The event is held every two years in a different country, and this marks the first time it’s going to be in Canada.
Oliva’s father, Clint Lavallee, knew nothing about the world championships until his daughter was taking part in a competition in late April in Montreal and a couple of coaches told him she was probably good enough to qualify. Clint got in touch with organizers of the event and then had to send them times from Olivia’s competitions over the last year after having them certified.
“When I looked at the qualifying times that they sent me and I looked at Olivia’s, I said: ‘She’s not just qualifying … she’s up there as one of the top swimmers in her category,’” Clint said. “She really is that good.”
Olivia learned to swim when she was 7 and has been competing for the last two years. She is part of the Club de natation de St-Hyacinthe, which has a division for special-needs children, and also swims in the backyard pool at her father’s house in StBasile-le- Grand.
“I’m very excited,” Olivia said with her big smile about going to the world championships. “I want to win a gold medal and represent Canada.”
Olivia also loves to dance and is part of the Studio Innova Danse in St-Basile-le- Grand. She said her favourite music is “funky” and her favourite singer is Ariana Grande.
Olivia’s 12-year-old sister, Emma, is a high-level gymnast with Club- Gym Richelieu and will be entering a sport-études program at École Secondaire De Mortagne in September. Her 10-year-old brother, Logan, plays baseball and hockey for teams in St-Basile-le- Grand. They are planning to be in Nova Scotia to cheer on Olivia along with their father and mother, Carolyn Calderisi. The parents divorced five years ago and now have joint custody of the three children.
Clint said swimming has helped Olivia develop physically and helped build her confidence.
“Swimming has also allowed her to be the centre of attention,” Clint said. “I have never seen a child who supports her siblings the way Olivia does. You go to one of Logan’s hockey games, people know when they get in the arena that Olivia is there because she has a horn and she blares it incessantly. She’s the loudest fan there and she’s wearing Logan’s jersey. She goes to Emma’s gymnastics competitions and she knows what Emma has done in each discipline and understands if it’s a good score or a bad score. She’s the most encouraging person in the room.
“To see her in the pool and all the focus on her … to me its very gratifying,” the father added while holding back tears. “I just love the fact that it’s that one moment where all the attention is on her and she deserves it. When Olivia won her first swimming gold medal, Logan was in the stands, a 10-year-old boy, and he was crying. To see my son react the way he did at that moment, I was just as proud of him as I was of Olivia because I saw that Logan as a young kid understood what this is all about.”
Clint works as a contractor for Optiqo Sweden AP, a quality control and facilities management software company, that has helped pay for airline tickets for Olivia and him to fly to Nova Scotia, marking the first time Olivia will get on an airplane. Clint also started a GoFundMe account to help cover some of the other expenses involved with the trip.
When asked if he has any advice for new parents of children with Down syndrome, Clint said: “We’ve never, ever put limitations on Olivia. She might put limitations on herself, but it will never be because we said she can’t. Olivia has brought out the best in me and I don’t claim to be perfect in any way, shape or form. But I’ve realized that having a child like Olivia allows me to look at other people completely differently and be more accepting of other people. I try not to judge anybody because of Olivia.
“The best advice I have is let them tell you what they’re not capable of doing as opposed to us telling them. It’s my job to let Olivia do anything she possibly can do. Let them tell you what their limitations are, don’t you assume what they are. She’s proven so many things to me
... she’s bilingual. She learned a second language because she wanted to learn another language. We just opened the door for her to take it.”
The next door for Olivia leads to a swimming pool in Nova Scotia.
Her smile there will be hard to miss.
It’s my job to let Olivia do anything she possibly can do ... she’s proven so many things to me.