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South Surrey swimmer breaks national, provincial records at recent meets

‘He has this natural feel for the water’: Pacific Sea Wolves coach
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South Surrey swimmer Matthew Cao, 12, has broken national and provincial records this year, including a relay event with his Pacific Sea Wolves teammates LJ Liu, Jack Wang and Nio Li. (submitted photo)

Swimming seven times a week and travelling to and from Vancouver for school five days a week might seem like a lot for anyone to handle.

For South Surrey swimmer Matthew Cao, 12, it’s just another week.

“I’m used to it,” he said, taking a break from studying to talk about swimming.

“I enjoy swimming with my friends during practice… I’m kind of competitive, so it’s fun to race against my friends. It brings the fun out of the sport.”

A swimmer since his parents enrolled him in lessons in preschool, he joined the South Surrey-based Pacific Sea Wolves swim club at six years old, and recently broke national and provincial records.

“He enjoys being in the water. He has a lot of fun,” Mom Julie Chung said.

“He works very hard,” she added, noting how her son trains early in the mornings, then studies in the car on his way to school.

READ ALSO: Pacific Sea Wolves’ swimmers score medals at provincial championships

His coach, PSW assistant head coach Ben Geary, agreed.

“He has this natural feel for the water and it’s quite something to see,” Geary said.

“He’s worked at it he’s definitely put in the time. He’s a really hard worker – I say to Jy (Lawrence, PSW head coach) sometimes when things get harder in practice, is when he really shows his ability and really comes to play.”

In January, at the Mies Schootman Invitational swim meet at Vancouver Aquatic Centre, Cao broke the national record for the short course 200 metre Individual Medley (IM), with a time of 2:15.94.

“I was really excited because it was always a dream of mine to be a record holder,” Cao said.

Then, in the first weekend of March at the B.C. provincial championships in Victoria, he broke the record for the long course 200M IM (2:19.73) and was part of a relay team (with LJ Liu, Jack Wang and Nio Li) that broke the 11/12 boys long course 4x50 freestyle relay provincial record.

The entire team really pushes each other and support each other’s successes, Geary said.

Cao noted how much he appreciates his team, his coaches and his parents.

“Mostly I’m just really grateful… it’s really nice to have multiple people supporting you,” he said.


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tricia.weel@peacearchnews.com

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Tricia Weel

About the Author: Tricia Weel

I’m a lifelong writer, and worked as a journalist in community newspapers for more than a decade, from White Rock to Parksville and Qualicum Beach, to Abbotsford and Surrey, from 2001-2012
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