Before he dives into the water, David Dunn is a bundle of nerves, anxious and fidgeting, but once he gets into the water at the Prince George Aquatic Centre his demeanour changes instantly.
"He always looks like he's enjoying himself when he swims," said Suni Dunn about her son. "He keeps a smile on his face the whole time."
The 2010 graduate of Prince George secondary school will represent British Columbia at the 2013 Canada Summer Games in Sherbrooke, Que., starting Friday. Only two men from Special Olympics qualify for each provincial swim team.
Dunn's journey to Sherbrooke began last summer at the 2012 B.C. Summer Games when one of the province's athletic development coordinators identified him and told Suni that her son had the potential to make the Canada Summer Games team. But he needed to spend more time practising.
Suni said the coordinator told her Dunn was the right age and had the long, lean physique of a swimmer. The six-foot athlete already had the strength to pull himself through the water, but needed to work on his finesse.
So in addition to training with his Special Olympic Prince George coaches, Suni said the Pisces Summer Swim Club gave him private lessons. These days, Dunn swims five days a week for about two hours a day.
The opportunity for the private lessons with the Pisces Club, with instruction from head coach Airdrie Greenwell and assistant coach Kailey Tress has already paid dividends with Dunn's progress.
"Last week, at the Special Olympics B.C. summer games in Langley, David knocked 27 seconds off his qualifying time in the 200m individual medley," Suni said. "They didn't put any limitations on him and they expected a lot from him."
In Langley, Dunn won three gold medals and three silver medals. Suni credited his success with being able to participate in the Pisces swim meet the week before, which Greenwell, as head coach arranged.
Suni said she would love to see her son join a swim club permanently, because she believes it would help him progress up to the standards set by Special Olympians on the Lower Mainland who have many opportunities to swim in competitions. (An athlete needs to be affiliated with a club before they're allowed to swim in many of the provincial swim meets.)
Greenwell said her pupil picks up cues from other swimmers really well and incorporates them into his own strokes right away.
"The main goal is to get David more involved with the Pisces Club," she said. "If the situation works out it would be great to have him swimming with the other kids in the club."
In Sherbrooke, Dunn will swim in all five Special Olympic events - 50m freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke and the 100m freestyle and backstroke.
Dunn said he's "excited to meet some new people and shake their hands and make new friends."
While Dunn competes in Quebec from Aug. 5-8, the Pisces Swim Club will send 20 swimmers to the regional meet in Fort St. John this Saturday and Sunday.
