It’s been a good year for Canada’s Eric Hedlin. Hedlin became the 3rd fastest Canadian of all time in the 1500 at the 2013 Canadian World Championship Trials and he captured a bronze medal in the 800 freestyle at the World University Games. Unfortunately his strong performance in the 1500 at the Canadian trials didn’t earn him a spot on the world championship pool team so he headed on down to Mexico where he qualified for the Canadian open water team. Admittedly, he learned a lot in that world cup race that served as the team qualifier but he was committed to charging hard at the ‘worlds’. He surprised a lot of people this past summer when he took the silver medal at the FINA World Championships in Barcelona in the 5K but he joined the ranks of pool swimmers making podium appearances early in their open water swimming careers.
Hedlin’s success in Barcelona drove him to the top of the Canadian “Big Splash” people’s choice water for race of the year. This undoubtedly gives momentum to Hedlin’s open water plans for 2014 and continued success for the Canadians in open water swimming with both Richard Weinberger and Eric Hedlin leaving their respective marks on the world stage.
Way to go sweetie!