I CAN FLY!
The Saskatchewan synchronized swim team went through its last practices in preparation for the Canada Winter Games.
And they got some extra help from a special source.
Two-time Olympian Elise Marcotte was there to guide the girls through their routine for the final times at the Shaw Centre on Saturday and Sunday.
“It’s not to teach necessarily, but to share the passion, share the knowledge,” Marcotte said.
“With the coaches, I’m trying to share the knowledge from my experiences from bigger games. With the swimmers, it’s just really how to push every day.”
Marcotte, from Quebec City, finished fourth in the duet discipline with partner Marie-Pier Boudreau Gagnon at the 2012 London Olympics.
She was also a captain of the Canadian team.
But after two Olympic cycles, Marcotte decided that would be the end of her athletic career.
It wasn’t the end of her interest in the sport, though. Now based out of Calgary, Marcotte began setting up clinics and offering to help young athletes after retiring.
“For me, it’s transferring that leadership on to the pool deck now,” she said.
Synchro Saskatchewan high-performance director Laurie Wachs put out the call.
Marcotte, 26, has been helping the girls since November.
“I had a good relationship with the team right away,” she said. “They welcomed me really well.”
The team is sure thankful she’s been able to lend a hand.
“The girls really look up to her,” Saskatoon-based coach Brittany Leaper said. “They train at a whole new level when she’s around. She inspires them.
“Even though she may be saying the same things as us, coming from her it means a whole world of difference.”
Alana Hargreaves, 14, watched Marcotte compete in London and came away inspired.
Hargreaves started synchronized swimming when she was five years old.
The Saskatoon native has competed at national championships before, but the Canada Games will be the biggest stage she’s seen.
Hargreaves has been training for this competition for three years. So having a mentor like Marcotte assist the nine girls has been fruitful. “She has worked so hard to get where she is. I feel like we’re doing the same thing,” Hargreaves said. “We’ve trained for so long. It’s finally becoming a reality that we’re getting to go to the Games so soon.”
The team will head to Prince George Saturday. The competition begins Monday.
Leaper is aiming for a fourth-place finish. Alberta, Ontario and Quebec are regarded as the top provinces, but she is hoping they can knock off British Columbia. Marcotte won’t be there. Her main job as the communications lead for the Canadian Sport Institute will keep her busy.
She’s just hoping her expertise rubs off for the Saskatchewan team — and then for others in the future.
“I’ve had the chance to work with the best in the country to learn how to do the proper lifts,” she said. “I’m trying to share that to get our country stronger as a whole.”