Katy Perry
Women’s Swimming
Katy Perry is trying to make the last few weeks of her Gaels career count. Last week the fourth-year history major took full advantage of her third trip to the OUA championships by taking home two golds and a bronze in the breaststroke. Perry swam to gold in the 50-metres and 100-metres and her teammate Brittany Segeren swam to the gold in the 200 metre. “It was all really exciting,” Perry said. “I did it all with Brittany—we went in wanting three podium finishes.” That’s exactly what they did, standing side by side on each podium in the three breaststroke races.
“We did all of them together,” Perry said.
In her final year of high school, Perry had a major back injury that forced her out of the water, but she rebounded. She started swimming again in her first year and has been swimming as a Gael for four years for Queen’s.
During her time in the pool she has swam in junior nationals and many OUA and national championships, but one of the pinnacles in her career was a trip to the World University Games trials last year.
Perry said the trials were particularly exciting because Segeren was with her. “It was definitely a great experience,” Perry said. “It was good to go together.”
Segeren and Perry have started together in more than just the world university games trials. Segeren has been on the team for two years, but they clicked right away. “We started training together right away” Perry said. “She is both my best friend and my biggest competitor. When we finished one-two in the [50-metre breaststroke] we were the most excited.”
The two of them will have high hopes next weekend in Laval for the national championships. “I would like to medal in the 50 and 100-metre [breaststroke], winning anything would be exciting” Perry said.
After spending her whole life as a competitive swimmer, this weekend will be her last meet.
“I approached the season knowing it was my last,” she said. Yet as the last weekend approaches, Perry remains very philosophical.
“There is a lot of disappointment in this sport and sticking through it is important,” she said. “When you win, it makes everything worth it.”
Jon Martin
Men’s Track
Long-jumper Jon Martin—who won Athlete of the Week honours twice in four weeks late last year—had some close calls at the Cornell Robert Kane Meet in Ithaca, N.Y., but eventually pulled it together and managed to win the gold.
The fourth-year life sciences major from Crescent School in Toronto had trouble finding his range early on, and faulted on his first two jumps, leaving him in a do-or-die situation going into his third jump. On that attempt, however, he managed a clean take-off and stuck a jump of 6.40 metres.
That jump earned him the eighth and final spot in the finals by the narrowest of margins. Bill Woods, Martin’s teammate from Queen’s, jumped 6.39 metres and missed the cut.
In the final, Martin got off to the same auspicious start. He again faulted on his first two jumps, and had to hit his final one for a shot at the podium.
On that jump he made good, soaring an amazing 7.17 metres to take gold with the second-best all-time jump by a Queen’s athlete and the best jump in Canada this year. It also marked a new personal best for Martin.
“He had about a millimeter to spare on the board,” said head coach Melodi Tocolacci in a written report to the Journal, commenting on how close he was to a third fault.
Martin said it took him some time to get his mind on track.
“There were a lot of things going through my mind,” he said. “Firstly, that I might not even make the finals. I was getting pretty negative to start with. But I thought I just had to give it my all, and it worked out. It was kind of a squeaker.”
Martin also said the jump boosted his confidence.
“I haven’t had a personal best since second year, so it was a long time coming,” he said. “It was definitely a confidence boost coming right before [the OUA championships].”
Martin said he has the highest of hopes for the rest of the season.
“My goal for [the OUA championships] is definitely to get gold and win, especially because I don’t think anyone’s ever had three straight golds,” he said. “Going into nationals with this jump, I’m in the mind frame that I have to win OUAs and I have to win [the CIS championships]—anything less is almost going to be a letdown.”
Last season, Martin finished with OUA gold and CIS bronze thanks to a jump of 7.04 metres.
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