We caught up to Collyn Gagne as he was tapering his training in the days leading up to last weekend's FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
The Iroquois Ridge High School graduate set the NCAA II record for the 400 Individual Medley in March at the NCAA Championships, beating his closest competitor by more than 5 seconds. In total, he competed in 5 events at the meet.
According to the Honours Economics grad, going for the record was a bit of a "longshot," and "I had to take off 5 or 6 seconds, but it was still possible in the back of my mind."
When he found himself in first place, he just wanted to beat his opponents by "as much as possible." He set a new record in the process with a time of 3:42.49.
"You only get one or two times to really go all in," says the NCAA Record Holder.
There are two or three big tournaments a year that NCAA swimmers focus on, and consider for a moment that he hadn't been able to compete collegiately for the last two years. So his desire to leave his mark on the sport is understandable.
The 2020 NCAA Championships were canceled on the day of the meet after he had swum the preliminary heats. Then last year, Simon Fraser University decided not to compete due to COVID-19 and all the cross-border travel. So, the 2022 NCAA Championships have been in the making for three years.
It was the culmination of three years of hard work and training, and not have a good opportunity to show for it until then.
It was quite the crescendo for the 21-year-old, but all good things must end, and now he has graduated from Simon Fraser University and thus the school's varsity team. So while collegiate swimming is no longer in the equation, he has a bright future at the international level.
Collyn has joined Simon Fraser Aquatic Club to continue training and racing since his collegiate career ended, but things are set to take off. He has become a fully-fledged member of the National Swim team, and this week's World Championships were his first taste of the top level.
Being the new kid on the block gives Gagne respite from the constant pressure he felt during his NCAA career.
"I'm seated 20th, so there isn't a lot of expectation on me to make a final or anything like that", but he says that being the underdog gives him new motivation.
He revels in the opportunity to surprise his competition and show people what he's made of.
On Saturday, Collyn finished 14th place. While it's a step down from where he's accustomed to finishing, he will have turned a few heads.
He'll continue his training regiment out in Burnaby as he prepares for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, at the end of July.
You can follow Collyn on Instagram @collyngagne