An Okotokian went halfway around the world to break a record close to home. Finlay Knox shattered his own 200m IM provincial record in a fourth-place finish to highlight a sterling showing with Team Canada at the Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, Aug.23-26 in Fiji. “The 200 IM is probably my best event and even though it was at the end of the meet it was hard to not just focus on that event the whole week,” Knox said. “I was really looking forward to that race when it came and my goal going into it was just to have fun, give it my all and that’s what I did.” Knox took off over 1.6 seconds from his previous best to touch the wall in a time of 2:02.09. It’s the third fastest any Canadian at any age has performed in the 200m IM in 2018. “That was my first (individual) A final and just knowing that I’ve raced some of those guys before and I deserved to be in that final,” he said. “I just went in there and swam my race and didn’t worry about anyone. “That really helped me pull through and get a best time.” Swimming in lane one as the seventh place qualifier out of the prelims, Knox made up a ton of ground in the latter half of the medley – using particularly his breaststroke leg to get into the top-four. Knox finished second to a pair of Americans and a Japanese racer and just edged Canadian teammate Cole Pratt for the fourth fastest swim. “Although I am a breaststroker I still don’t have the best breaststroke split compared to everyone else,” he said. “My breaststroke just came through in that race and everything was perfect and I’m really happy to swim it again.” Somewhat of a newcomer to elite relay competition, Knox got in on three relay teams with Canada (4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay, and 4x100m medley relay) along with individual performances in 100m butterfly and 100m breaststroke. “I love doing relays,” he said. “It’s a great atmosphere, you’re racing not only for yourself, but for the country and the other teammates.” He established a best time in the 100m breast and during his splits in all three relays while getting acclimated to outdoor swimming in the tropics. The South Pacific island is in the midst of the winter months, slightly cooling the temperatures to roughly 30 degrees Celsius and less for the outdoor swimming event. Wind did come into play on the final days of racing. “The highest temperature we got was probably 29, 30 degrees,” he said. “The last two days of competition, and for my 200 IM, it was very grey and windy out. We weren’t expecting that, but it was something you had to put to the side and not think about.” Knox, a longtime member of the Okotoks Mavericks Swim Club, was one of seven Albertans on Team Canada. His time in Fiji reaffirmed that he belongs on the international swimming stage. “It was great, I had lots of fun and the whole team did really well, definitely something I want to do again,” he said. “Swimming my own race and trying not to get intimidated and knowing the reason people who chose Team Canada put me on that team is because I deserved to be there. I’m able to swim at that level. “Just knowing that I can swim against these other boys, that I’m meant to be there.” The marathon swim season for the Okotokian never truly ends. He gets roughly a week off until training begins with the Mavericks. Knox switches his focus to the Youth Olympic Games, held in October in Argentina, where he will once again have the opportunity to wear the maple leaf.
