A Surprise Olympic Send-Off

Return to edition

Thorburn (red shirt) and MacLean get SNAP'd with, from left: Reason's mother Sandy, Sean, and MacLean's parents Dan and Michelle

A Surprise Olympic Send-Off

In late June, the Etobicoke Swim Club (ESC) was excited to host a surprise send-off for ESC coach Kevin Thorburn and ESC swimmers Brittany MacLean and Amanda Reason, all three of whom will be crossing the Atlantic in July to participate in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, England. Though Reason was unable to attend, Thorburn and MacLean were cheered on by fellow ESC members who wished the pair the best of luck. Coach Thorburn will be shouting words of encouragement as MacLean – who holds the Canadian world record in the 400-metre freestyle – swims the 400-metre freestyle and competes with Reason in the 4x200-metre freestyle relay. MacLean's sister Heather and swimmers Tobias Oriwol and Alexa Komarnycky – both of whom once trained with the ESC – will also join Canada's Olympic team in England. The swimmers will be representing both their country and a swim club with a proud and prolific history that includes Olympic gold medal winner Alex Baumann.

Photos by Justin Harrington

Interact with your community! Share the photo with your friends, leave a comment for the world to see, or buy a copy of the photo as a print or downloadable file to keep forever.

Share Comment Purchase

Each event that SNAP Etobicoke attends is assigned a unique “short code” to allow you to find the event quickly on our Web site. These codes can be found in our newspapers below each event description.

Simply enter the Event Code in this box from any page on our Web site and press ENTER. You’ll be taken directly to the chosen event where you can view all the photos from that event.

Purchase your favourite photos, share the event with your friends, comment on the event or photos.