Kyle McMahon has been waiting years for his chance to race in the Paralympic swim trials next week at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Scarborough, Ont.
Waiting, and training like demon. At stake is a trip to Rio.
After twice being denied a spot on the Canadian Paralympic swim team when each time he was within a split-second of making the qualifying standards in 2008 and 2012, the former Prince George Barracuda is taking a one last stab at making the cut.
If he makes it, he'll be sporting the maple leaf this summer on the Paralympic Games pool deck in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sept. 7-18.
"This is the third go-round in my career and I'm probably more prepared than I was for the other two - third time's the charm," said McMahon, from his home in Surrey. "I'm still having fun with it, but not in the same way as it did four or eight years ago. I'm kind of not enjoying it in the same way. This is my last rodeo."
McMahon, who turned 25 on Thursday, is in his 16th year of swimming. Formerly a breaststroke specialist, he made the switch to butterfly about three years ago to enhance his chances of making the team. He figures he'll have his best shot in the 50-metre butterfly event, set for next Friday, but he'll have to have the race of his life.
"My best time (in the 50 butterfly) is 36.0 seconds and I believe the International Paralympic Committee time standard is 33.8," he said. "I enjoy butterfly, it's a fine balance. The kick and the pull have to be just right.
"The odds are not in my favour, just because of how fast everybody else in the world is. It's not Canada which determines it, it's how we compare with the rest of the world."
McMahon also plans to race the 50m freestyle on Tuesday, the 100m breaststroke on Wednesday and the 100m freestyle on Sunday, April 10.
McMahon moved from Prince George to Surrey five years ago and he swims with the Surrey Knights Swim Club, where he trains 20 hours per week.
He was born in Burns Lake and moved to Prince George shortly after he suffered a brain injury in a car accident at age 4. The injury affects his mobility and McMahon took up swimming when he was nine to help his rehabilitation. McMahon started competitive swimming with Prince George Special Olympics and eventually joined the Barracudas Swim Club, where he climbed the national para-swimming ranks.
McMahon will have some familiar faces watching from the crowd. His mother Sharon Marr and 23-year-old sister Kaitlyn plan to make the trip to Toronto from Burns Lake and his father, Shawn McMahon, from The Pas, Man., will also be there. McMahon leaves for Toronto on Friday and will be there for 11 days.
Former Barracuda Katie Mann, a Prince George native who competes in the CIS with the University of Alberta Golden Bears, is entered in the Olympic trials.
Live streaming coverage of the Olympic and Paralympic trials can be found at: www.cbc.ca/sports or on the CBC Sports app.
