Bison swimmer shows well at Commonwealth Games
Yestrau gains valuable international experience
Steve Bohrn Staff
The end of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport season wasn’t the final event of the year for Bison swimmer Landice Yestrau. The 18-year-old from Winnipeg fulfilled the dream of every competitive swimmer in the country when she competed for Canada in the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Yestrau swam in the 200-metre, 100m and 50m backstroke at the Games, held in Melbourne, Australia from March 16-26. The first-year Bison was at a loss for words when asked to describe the feeling of competing on the international stage at such a young age.
“It was amazing. To be there and competing for my country at the senior level while I’m still a junior swimmer is absolutely incredible,” said Yestrau.
Not only did she compete, but she also fared well against some of the best swimmers in the world. Her best finish was a sixth-place in the 50m backstroke, and she also set personal best times for herself in the 50m backstroke (29.75) and the 100m backstroke (1:03.63).
Yestrau, a University 1 student, has been involved with swimming for most of her life.
“I got started with swimming lessons when I was really young. I finished when I was about eight years old, and after I tried diving for a year, I started swimming with a club,” she said.
As she grew up, her whole childhood revolved around her love of water. Those who watched her always described her as natural swimmer, and her love of the sport was something that was never questioned.
Yestrau expressed gratitude toward her parents for getting her started at such a young age. She said that without them, none of it would have been possible.
“They supported me a lot and really kept me going through the tough times, and for that I owe them a lot.”
The road to success in swimming has not been an easy one for Yestrau, as the life of a high-performance athlete is very demanding.
“We practice 10 times per week for about two hours at a time. We mix up the training in the pool with dry land training in the gym.”
Many athletes might have trouble getting used to such a demanding training schedule, but Yestrau had a slight advantage coming into the Bison program.
“I swam with the Bisons while I was still in grade 12, and it has really helped to ease the transition. It has still been hard, but it was definitely manageable,” said Yestrau.
The Commonwealth Games will hopefully be the springboard that launches Yestrau’s international swimming career.
“The Olympics are the ultimate goal in 2008, but before that there are the Pan-Pacific Championships in Victoria this year and the World Championships in Australia in 2007.”
Whatever happens, the future looks very bright for this rising star to make her name on the international swimming scene.
