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Kierra Smith boosted by the professionalism at the High Performance Centre – Ontario

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By Jim Morris

Not swimming her favourite race at this summer’s FINA World Aquatic Championships won’t change Kierra Smith’s training regime.

Smith qualified for the world championships in the 100-metre breaststroke, swimming a personal best time of one minute, 6.54 seconds at the 2019 Canadian Swimming Trials. That came after Smith was disqualified in the 200-m breast for her elbows exiting the water.

“I prepared for both although the 200-m comes more naturally for me,” said the 24-year-old from Kelowna, B.C. “The stroke rate, the stroke count, the distance per stroke all comes a lot more naturally.

“In the 100 you have to be a bit stronger, whereas in the 200 I can hold speed really well,” Smith said. “I just have to train the 100-m a little harder and focus a little more to get that power and speed in.”

Pool swimming begins July 21 at the world championships, being held in Gwangju, South Korea. With the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games just a year away, Smith hasn’t made major changes to her training schedule.

“I will continue training the exact same,” she said. “I will still focus on both and get ready for next year.”

Smith has found success at both distances.

In her first Olympic appearance at the Rio 2016 Games, she made the final in the 200-m breaststroke where she finished seventh. She was 19th in the 100-m breast.

At the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Smith won a silver in the 100-m breast and was fourth in the 200. She was 11th in both distances at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo.

Dealing with the disqualification process on the opening day of trials is something Smith doesn’t want to experience again.

“It was incredibly frustrating because once it happened I couldn’t do anything,” she said. “It goes off to the coaches and higher-ups to try and fight. I would have liked to be involved. I would like to talk to the official who did it, just to hear.

“Because it was out of my control, it let me focus on warming down, focus on the 100-m the next day. That’s why I was able to bounce back, because there are so many people who are taking care of me. They did a great job.”

It’s been a busy year for Smith. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a double major in phycology and communications. She made the decision to move to Toronto to train with coach Ben Titley at the High Performance Centre – Ontario and also got engaged to her partner Amanda. Smith had spent six years living in Minneapolis so relocating to Toronto was a difficult decision.

“It wasn’t an easy transition, leaving friends and family in Minnesota and moving East instead of back to B.C.,” she said. “Knowing that it’s working out is just comforting.”

Training at the centre has been an adjustment for Smith but working with Titley and sharing space with people like Penny Oleksiak, Kayla Sanchez and Yuri Kisil has already improved her performance.

“Any time you enter a new program you are excited to do it,” she said. “It’s a new environment.

“It’s such a small group. That means we all have an ability to get to know each other really well. It does become a bit of a family environment. They’re all so focused on high performance every day. That’s really translating into my races.”

Smith has been impressed with the atmosphere and treatment the athletes receive.

“It’s my first time in a High Performance Centre,” she said. “There’s so much extra time allotted to dryland, pre-pool, to recovery treatments. I just never knew how professional the sport could be.

“I’ve been taking (swimming) seriously for a long, long time, but this is just another level. It’s things I tried to do on my own, things I’ve tried in the past, but having a group and structure to do it in is exactly what I wanted, and I needed.”

Smith believes the work she is doing this year will help pave the road to next year’s Olympics.

“This year is getting used to it, knowing how it works,” she said. “Next year I can go in with confidence, knowing exactly where I need to be.”