Pierse’s quest ends in heartbreak
World record holder’s Olympic bid falls short
MONTREAL— Oakville teenager Tara Van Beilen promised herself she’d keep her tears inside this time. World record holder Annamay Pierse was not so fortunate.
The women’s 200-metre breaststroke lived up to its billing as the event to watch at the Canadian Olympic swimming trials, pitting Pierse against world bronze medallist Martha Mccabe of Toronto and the deepest world-class field here, including the fast-rising Van Beilen.
Pierse has struggled since setting the world record at the 2009 worlds in Rome. She had trouble adjusting to the change in swimsuits and suffered serious illnesses, including dreaded dengue fever at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
She’d been unable to push herself in training the way she wanted and her worst fears were realized Saturday night when she finished a distant fifth behind the one-two performance of Van Beilen and Mccabe, who posted the secondand third-fastest times in the world this year.
“I didn’t go down without a fight. I gave everything I could.” ANNAMAY PIERSE
Pierse was inconsolable. Tears streaming down her face, she talked to the reporters in the press room afterwards with her boyfriend, Olympic kayaker Mark Oldershaw, at her side.
“I’m heartbroken obviously,” said Pierse. “This is sport. It’s what I love about it. It’s what I hate about it. The ups and the downs. Unfortunately, I’ve had more downs than ups in the last little while.
“To see a team that’s going to go to London, I’m heartbroken that I’m not going to be on it. But I will be there100 per cent behind my whole team and behind my friends. They’re my family. I don’t really know what to say other than it just didn’t happen today. I didn’t go down without a fight. I gave everything I could.” Pierse trains with Van Beilen and Mccabe at the University of B.C. Swim Club under noted taskmaster Joseph Nagy. Van Beilen is blos- soming in her first year. She wept openly when she qualified for the Olympic team Thursday in the 100metre breaststroke. “A lot of people came up to me two days ago saying I got them to tears,” said the 18-year-old. “I didn’t want to do that again. I just wanted to race and have fun.” Mccabe took pains to credit Pierse for putting Canada on the breaststroke swimming map. “You can’t forget how amazing Annamay is and the amazing things she’s done. She still has the world record and she knows something we don’t know still.” Pierse was asked if there was any solace in still being the world record holder. “I haven’t had the smoothest career,” she said. “I haven’t had the superstar from the start. I’ve had to grit my way through everything. I’ve had to claw my way to the top. . . . To know you were the best in the world at something once, no one can ever take that away from me. I wanted that gold medal so bad.”