Squamish’s Eli Chappell took home a handful of medals at the Swim B.C. AAA Short Course Championships in Saanich this past weekend.
Chappell competed in seven individual and three relay races, picking up three medals individually and another three as a relay team member.
His top individual showing was in the 100-metre freestyle, where he finished second and achieved an age-group national time of 56.37 seconds. He also picked bronze medals in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly.
Chappell also narrowly missed bronze medals in the 100 backstroke (fourth) and the 200 backstroke (fourth). He also had a seventh-place finish in the 400 freestyle.
The former member of the Squamish Pirates swim club grabbed two more silvers in the 200 medley and free relays and a bronze in the 400 free relay.
“He was happy with his results and particularly excited about breaking 26 seconds for his 50 free and breaking 57 seconds for his 100 free,” his mother Lynn Chappell wrote in an email. “His focus now in the spring and early summer will be on trying to qualify for Age Group Nationals taking place in Montreal in July.”
To qualify for Montreal, Chappell needs two more age-group national times. He’s already one-third of the way there after his strong time in the 100 freestyle.
Squamish swimmer Wyatt Pedersen also made the trip to Saanich, placing 26th in the 50 freestyle, 27th in the 200 breaststroke and 22nd in the 100 breaststroke.
Check future editions of The Chief for more results from the Squamish swimming duo.
