A Wallaceburg swimmer is Winnipeg-bound to compete in a national swim meet.
Madison Broad, 13, will be swimming in eight different events during the competition, which runs from July 23 to July 28.
“It’s in Winnipeg and we’re going to fly there,” she said. “It’s for age groups all over Canada, so we’re with everybody in our age category and you try to do the best you can.”
Madison said she trains every morning from 5:15 a.m. to 7:15 a.m. in the pool in Chatham.
“I’m trying to get some rest in too… you don’t want to waste all of your energy before nationals,” she said.
Madison also just competed in provincials as well, winning two gold medals, 100m Fly and the 200m Back, which was close to a senior national time.
Madison got some help from local restaurant owner Denise Hatfield, who owns Chez Denise, to help off-set some of the cost.
Denise collected donations in a glass jar, plastered with photos of Madison, at her downtown Wallaceburg restaurant for a couple of months.
“I started following Madison online, looked at her stats and saw how close she was to the older kids, it was amazing,” Denise said. “We decided to try and help out. We know how expensive the bathing suits are, so we thought we would try to get some donations and make a few more people aware of what Madison is doing.”
Watch for for more on this story, as Madison represents Wallaceburg, and the Chatham Y Pool Sharks, at the national competition.
