>> Driving Up Synchro Ladder

Daily Mercury
December 7, 2004

Every weekday morning, long before the sun comes up, Katie Hammond trudges into the darkness for the hour-long drive to Etobicoke.

Leaving Guelph at 4:30 a.m., often with mom Lynn at the wheel, Hammond heads east for another five-hour practice with the Olympium Synchro Swim Club. The routine is relatively new - Hammond started swimming with the Olympium club in August, increasing her workouts to about 32 hours a week - but still exhausting and for a Grade 12 honours student, it can be a heavy burden.

"The getting up has been OK," Hammond said after placing 10th in the Tier Seven division during the Lisa Alexander Figures Meet Saturday at the Victor Davis Pool. "But it gets tiring sometimes. I knew I was going to have to give things up. You know the outcome is going to be good."

The payoff for the sacrifice - after a five-hour practice, 17- year-old Hammond returns to Guelph for afternoon classes at Lourdes high school - has been immediate. Hammond 's finish in the top division of the Alexander meet, which saw individual swimmers perform technical figures, was a vast improvement over 2003 when she was still with the Guelph Synchro Club and finished lower than 20th.

"I was hoping for it but not necessarily expecting it," she said. "I didn't think I'd improve this much in this short amount of time. The coaches (with the Olympium Club) are really amazing. They really helped me with my figures. Everything about my competition has improved since I've gone there."

That improvement, though, is just as much about the effort and time Hammond has put in, according to coach Julia Warren.

"In the case of an athlete like Katie, she has synchronized swimming at the forefront of her mind," Warren said. "She brings a significant amount of determination and hard work. We're very happy when those (improvements) occur because we're very confident in our program.

"Lots of athletes get the right tools and don't put it together. But Katie has."