When Hugh McNeill was a young swimmer, he looked up to Jake Tapp — the Canadian record holder for the 200m backstroke event who swam at McNeill's club — who watched over him every day in the club pool.
Tapp was not actually there, but an Olympic banner of him hung from the ceiling and watched over McNeill every time he swam backstroke.
Fast forward to the present day, McNeill followed in his hero’s footsteps and joined the world stage as a competitor at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan from July 14–30, his first international competition.
“This is the first time in a long time where I have been the little fish in the pond, where I haven’t been the fastest seed going into the competition,” he said. “[I was] kind of starstruck by the people around me, like the competitors that I was getting to race and just how many people were watching.”
McNeill advanced to the 200m backstroke semi-finals, but not to the finals. He ended up finishing 15th in the world with a time of 1:58.86.
“Looking back, I’m very happy with how I managed the pressure of competing on that stage and for Canada. And somewhat satisfied with my swim,” he said.
McNeill wasn’t the only T-Bird in Fukuoka — teammate Emma O’Croinin also participated, swimming in the 4x200m freestyle relay.
However, this is not O’Croinin’s first World Aquatics Championship. In 2019, she made the Canadian team and competed in Guntur, South Korea.
“I had struggled for a few years to get back on the [national] team,” she said. “So it was really rewarding to be back there again this year and get to race with all those swimmers at the international stage and be a part of Team Canada. It’s always so much fun.”
Team Canada made it to the finals of the 4x200m relay, but fell short of the podium with a fifth place finish. But O’Croinin sees the positive.
“[Swimming in the finals] was a goal going in and it was an honour to be part of that. [It] was a really good experience and something I can use to learn from and improve from going forward,” she said.
Compared to domestic competitions, O’Croinin says that “the atmosphere in an international one [has] a lot more spectators and there’s a lot more hype around it and publicity… [it] adds a little bit of extra excitement when you’re racing and walking out in front of the crowd.”
“When you’re there, you can get a feel for what it’s like and you want to make it [to the championship] again [then] go back and do it again,” she continued. “It’s a really good learning experience because you’re racing the best in the world and you get to see how they train… prepare… race… and be a part of it.”
The championship is over, but McNeill and O’Croinin are already back in the pool preparing for their U Sports season, training with their varsity teammates. The women’s team is looking to repeat their Canada West championship, while the men’s team is hungry for a 7th consecutive national championship.
Competing in the World Aquatics Championship may be a highlight, but it does not suffice these athletes.
“I want to be the best in the world. I want to get the world record.” McNeill said.