Kylie Masse inspires a new generation of swimmers
'I hope Windsor becomes a swimming Mecca in Canada,' says former Olympian Kelly Stefanyshyn
A wave of swimmers got a heavy dose of inspiration Monday night, watching LaSalle's Kylie Masse win a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Rio.
Friends, fans and former athletes back home in the Windsor region predict a new generation of athletes will be taking to the pool because of Masse's success.
The kind of performance she pulled off in the 100-metre breaststroke can be a tremendous boon for the sport, said Kelly Stefanyshyn, an Olympic swimmer now living in Windsor.
"That's what the power of sport is and why I love the Olympics," she said. "I can only hope Kylie's performance is inspiring the next generation right now."
The ripple effect
Stefanyshyn, who competed at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, says she was inspired as a young athlete when Mark Tewksbury took gold in the 1992 Olympic Games.
Young athletes from the E.J. Lajeunesse High School swim team have already found inspiration in Monday's bronze-medal victory.
Payton Veilleux and Anik Boulineax, both 15, realize the significance of someone from LaSalle making her way to the Olympic Games.
"She's from a small community and, guess what? She just won a bronze medal in the Olympics," Boulineax said. "It gives a lot of hope for this community."
The two swimmers also recognize reaching such high levels of competition takes plenty of determination.
"It shows you that hard work pays off and you can get to where you want in life," Veilleux said. "If you work hard enough for something, you can get to the top."
Watching with pride
Masse's former head coach Jeff Cowan took the LaSalle swimmer to some of her first big competitions, including international meets in Scotland and Greece.
"My heart was starting to flutter," he said of watching the competition on TV. "It's amazing to see somebody put that much effort into it to achieve that kind of success."
Like many others in the Windsor area, Cowan hopes Masse's success inspires other people to start swimming. Similar increased interest occurred in the U.S. when Michael Phelps tore through the pools earning record numbers of Olympic medals.
And to keep the momentum going, Masse and her teammates will be in the region later this year for the Windsor 2016 FINA World Swimming Championships.
Stefanyshyn, the operations manager for the event, says having high-end facilities at the Windsor International Aquatic and Training Centre and at the WFCU Centre could help reel in the newcomers, she explained.
"I hope Windsor becomes a swimming Mecca in Canada," she said.