Katherine DeClerq | Fulcrum Staff
AFTER COMPETING IN Shenzhen, China during the summer for the International University Sports Federation, third-year swimmer Adam Best began his season with the Gee-Gees motivated and determined to get back on the world stage. His latest meet saw him capture gold in the 100M backstroke and bronze in the 50M backstroke, but while Best is preparing for the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships, his vision is a little broader. Best took the time to share those ambitions with the Fulcrum.
Fulcrum: What program are you in and why did you choose to come to the University of Ottawa?
Best: I’m in third year, arts. I chose the University of Ottawa because my club coach was the coach for the university, and it allowed me to stay at home, which was financially the best decision at the time.
Have you always been a swimmer, and if so, for how long?
I’ve been swimming competitively for about eight years now. I was very active growing up—I played soccer and ran until I was about 14 until I decided to focus only on swimming. I stayed in swimming mostly because I was pushed into [it] by my mom, which I didn’t totally enjoy at first, but now [it’s] impossible to live my life without [the sport].
Can you describe a typical week of training?
We train nine times a week at the university: Every weekday afternoon from 2–4 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday mornings from 5:30–7:30 a.m., and Saturday mornings from 8–10 a.m. We also have weight training sessions three times a week as well.
What are your goals for the OUA Championships and the Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS) meet?
This year, with Olympic trials being my main focus, I’ll most likely be training straight through both of those meets to be better prepared come April. Of course, I’ll be looking to do the best I can for the team at those two meets; however, my focus is shifted a little bit further this year.
What has been your best race, personally?
My best race personally was my 200M backstroke at CIS last year, winning the silver medal behind my good friend Matt Hawes. He had helped me improve dramatically throughout the year and everything came together perfectly for me in that race.
Do you see yourself as pursuing an athletic career post-university?
Although I have no real idea of what I’d like to do following university, I feel like it will be sports-related in some way—mainly based off the fact that I have always lived my life in a very active way and sports, in general, have greatly shaped the person I am today.
If you were a fish, what fish would you be and why?
I would probably be Dory from Finding Nemo. Like her, I have a hard time remembering certain details all the time, but I try to stay positive as much as possible around the pool deck, because even though our training sessions can be long and monotonous sometimes, I try to be the person to say “just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.”
