Stefan Zwiers credits his older siblings for pushing him to his personal best.
"I always enjoyed sports and I always tried to reach the highest level possible," said Zwiers in a phone conversation from Montreal where he was preparing to head to Guadalaraja, Mexico to compete with the Canadian judo team at the Pan Am Games. "There was a lot of competition with my brothers as well, trying to outdo them in the sport."
One by one his brothers developed other interests, but not Zwiers, the graduate of PGSS leaves Sunday for Mexico with his first match scheduled on Wednesday. The four-day competition is on the mats from Oct. 26 to 29. Zwiers competes in the minus-100 kg classification.
The Canadian contingent consists of two women, six men, two coaches and a physiotherapist.
In the Quebec Open Judo tournament last weekend in Montreal, Zwiers placed second, falling in the final to Akinori Hongo of Japan, in the five country, including Brazil, event.
"I train with the guy so I know him pretty well," said Zwiers. "He's one of the best in Japan. I went in [thinking] winning would be a bonus, but just lasting would be good for the place I was in."
With a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder, an injury he's nursed for the past year, Zwiers said, his main goal is to stay healthy enough to compete in Mexico.
"I kind of went in just cautious, trying to play it safe, smart," he said about the Quebec Open.
Zwiers toughest match last weekend was his initial one against Nedjo Sarenac of Ontario.
"The first round was really painful because the guy I was fighting was really tall and it affected my injury quite a bit," said Zwiers about his six-foot-seven opponent. "Usually I'm the tallest at six-foot-three."
He was 4-1 in Montreal with Zwiers other wins against Jean-Francois Ouellet of Quebec, Dong Woo Kim of Alberta and Quebec's Maxime Poulin-Labelle.
Zwiers said once he gets to Mexico he plans to push the pain in his shoulder to the back of his mind.
"I'm just going to forget about it and put everything on the line," he said.
When Zwiers steps onto the mat for his first match at the Pan Am Games next week, it'll be the biggest competition the Prince George Judo Club member has ever competed in, surpassing the World Cup and junior worlds.
"The multi-sport event should be fun and with all the countries and athletes being there, it should be a great experience," said Zwiers.
The 22 year old is looking to compete longer than he did in a pre-Games event in Guadalaraja.
"I didn't do very well there; I kind of messed up my first round, which was upsetting," said Zwiers.
After the Pan Am Games, Zwiers will have some decisions to make about whether he wants to keep training to try and qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
"It's something I dream about," he said. "I've got a lot of decisions to make this winter to see where my career path is leading, but it's definitely a possibility to try out for."
