Highlanders Compete at East Coast Swimming Championships - Issue 27

The 2026 Winter East Coast Swimming Championships brought together 35 clubs and university teams from all Atlantic provinces, as well as Quebec and Ontario, from March 23–27 at Dalplex. This was our first long course championship meet of the season, which will conclude in the second week of July. Our beloved Spafford Pool is short course (25 metres in length), while long course competition takes place in a 50-metre pool. With our Nova Scotia short course winter championships at the beginning of March followed by March Break, this is always a challenging meet to prepare for, but our trio of Highlanders represented us well.

 

Harvey ’27 got us off to a great start with a gold medal in the 200m freestyle. He followed that with a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle and posted the fastest time in the men’s 100m freestyle. He also earned a personal best in the 100m backstroke, finishing just off the podium in fourth place.

 

Simply qualifying for one of the fastest swim meets on our shores is an accomplishment, and earning a second swim in finals is a goal in itself for many athletes. Cole ’27 achieved personal bests in the 50m butterfly and 100m freestyle and earned a second swim in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke. Even more impressively, Cole swam a personal best in the 200m breaststroke during prelims and then improved upon it again in finals.

 

Emery ’27 competed in six events over the weekend and saved her best for last. She qualified out of the preliminary round in the 100m backstroke and, raising her intensity for finals, moved up a place while also achieving a personal best.

 

Our Highlanders will now compete in a series of lower-stakes meets before ramping up for another round of championship competition from mid-June through mid-July. Until then, they will continue training in the pool up to eight times per week to ensure they are ready for a successful summer.