Canada calls on Izzy Speiran for lifesaving championships
There is busy, there is extremely busy, and there is Izzy Speiran busy.
An accomplished multi-sport athlete at Elmira District Secondary School, Speiran, 17, also finds time to serve as student council co-president and excel in the classroom (94 average) while working about 25 hours weekly as a lifeguard at the Woolwich Recreation Complex.
And now, the personable Speiran has been named to the 24-member squad representing Canada at this summer’s Lifesaving World Championships in Gold Coast.
“I’ve trained for the past two years for this, putting in the effort in the pool, running, lifting (weights) and everything else, so it feels great to see that hard work pay off,” said the five-foot-10 powerhouse.
“It feels great, and even though (the announcement) was a few days ago, I’m not sure it’s completely sunk in yet.”
Lifesaving sport is a gruelling, multi-disciplinary competition that combines athletic ability with lifesaving skills and rescue equipment. It is the world’s only sport where skills are learned for humanitarian purposes.
The sport has been featured prominently on the Australian factual television program, “Bondi Rescue.”
The Lifesaving World Championships typically attract 5,000 certified lifeguards who compete in the surf, the beach, and the pool. Canada is sending a 24-person team — six each in open male, open female, youth male and youth female, which includes Speiran.
This year’s championship will run from Aug. 20 to Sept. 8, with obstacle swim, rescue medley and mannequin carry among the pool events at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre in Southport.
Beach and ocean events, including board races, surf ski races, beach sprints and beach flags, will be staged at Kurrawa Beach.
In the Ocean woman event, Speiran will cover a 1,200-metre course that includes a swim leg, a board leg, a surf ski leg, and a beach sprint finish.
“I’ve never raced anybody outside of Canada before, so I’m curious to see how I will do against the world’s best,” she said.
The real challenge is pushing oneself to the limit.
“The sheer amount of racing you do is astounding,” said Speiran. “You’re done by the end of it.”
Speiran became a certified lifeguard at 15 and, to date, her biggest save was rescuing a small white dog from the deep waters of Lake Huron.
“We thought it was a seagull at first, but it was way out there and wasn’t doing well,” she said.
“The owner was on the beach, and she didn’t even realize it had gotten out that far.”
The Speiran family spends a good chunk of the summer at their trailer in Southampton, and Izzy joined the Saugeen Shores Lifesaving Club eight years ago to improve her fitness level for tennis.
Speaking of which, Speiran and Elmira classmate Tanner Chang will compete at next month’s all-Ontario (OFSAA) tennis championship in Toronto. The two struck gold at the WCSSAA and CWOSSA championships in the fall.
“I’ll head to Southampton after that and focus on getting ready for worlds,” said Speiran, who was also on the Elmira swimming and badminton teams this year.
Speiran credits her father, Scott, a former physical education teacher at Waterloo Collegiate, for giving her and her older brother, Ian, a gentle nudge into athletics.
Ian also used lifesaving sport for cross-training but is now allin on hockey, most recently with the Elmira Sugar Kings of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.
No matter how she fares in Australia, Speiran plans on sticking with the sport for at least another decade.
The world championships are staged every two years, with the 2026 event slated for Morocco.
“The pinnacle of the sport for strength is 27 or 28,” she said. “So you kind of have to stick with it until that point.”
Tennis will also play a role in her future, possibly later this year at the Ontario University Athletics level.
Speiran has yet to decide where she’ll go after returning from Australia but was accepted into the midwifery program at McMaster University on the same day she was named to Team Canada.
“I was born by a midwife, and it has always interested me,” she said.