Sudbury's Nina Kucheran headed to Olympic qualifiers

Sudbury's Nina Kucheran is one of only a handful of swimmers selected to compete in upcoming qualifiers for the rescheduled 2020 Olympics.

Kucheran, who has been training with the Markham Aquatics Club since 2020, is expected to compete against 20 other swimmers at an invite-only meet at the Toronto Pan-Am Sports Centre in May. 

From that group, Swimming Canada will determine who will be representing Canada in Tokyo.

"I think most of the people ... I've raced before multiple times," Kucheran said. "Most of them I know on a personal level, some I don't know on a personal level, but I'm aware of their achievements and who they are as swimmers."

"So, yeah, it'll be interesting to go up and get the race the best in the country. I'm really looking forward to it," she said. 

As part of her training, Kucheran hits the pool six times a week for a three-hour stretch, and does another three sessions with weights every week.

"I think the mental component is really important, especially in swimming. I think in all sports, you've heard multiple people say that when it comes to performance, it's 10 per cent physical, 90 per cent mental," she said.

"I also see a sports psychologist every week and kind of work on the mental side of my swimming and just talk about how training's going and just some tactics going into training in both meets and how to really make the most out of it. "

Following the qualifiers in Toronto, Kucheran said she eventually plans to head back and finish off her schooling at Florida State University. 

"I was going to graduate in 2022, but now with this year that I opted out of, I have an extra year of eligibility so I can kind of stretch out my undergrad and graduate a year later," Kucheran said.

"After that, the next Olympic cycle is only a year away, 2023," she said. "After that, I'd like to go to med school."