Teammates from the Sault Ste. Marie Aquatic Club rallied around local swimmer Brian Lee, who was one of several swimmers to place top three finishes at a local event.
With the sudden passing of his father, Dr. Hui Lee, during a meet in Toronto with the Sault Masters Polar Bear Swim Team in Toronto on Friday, Lee entered the pool on Sunday with the support of his team.
Lee was one of 50 members of SSMAC to compete in the North Eastern Ontario Region Developmental Meet #4 in Sault Ste. Marie, which attracted over 200 participants.
"Several swimmers had best times and I was really proud of how our athletes rallied around Brian Lee and his family after his father, Hui, died suddenly Friday in Toronto while swimming with the Sault Masters Polar Bear Swim Team," said SSMAC head coach Rob Moreside.
"It was heartening to see Brian swimming on Sunday. Our club will miss Hui greatly for his involvement and inspiration as a master swimmer."
Top-three finishers in the developmental division included Alexandra Tracy, Carrie-Lynne Smale, Kellie Geiling, Adam Mossa, Devon Cavanagh, Kailee Valois, Jack and Christopher Carlyle, Rayne Fisher, Elyse and Claire McCarthy, Alyssa Best, Ryan Griswold, Sara Matthews, Amy Sullivan, and Michael Lawrence.
In the pre-provincial division, top-three finishers were Becky Day, Julia DeFelice, Jen Dailey, Cait Tomlinson, Shannon Hazelton, Joshua Lawrence, Peter Olinger, Jeffrey Byrne, Sarah and Theo Theodossiou, Samantha and Adam Filek, Kyle and Sean Matthews, Nick Shoust, Sarah and Julia Turgeon, Chelsea Griswold, Jordan Boucher, Patrick and Alex Bonne, and Brian Lee.
"This was a great meet for several reasons," said Moreside. "It was the first meet all season where we had swimmers at all levels competing in the same event. As well, this is a great warmup for team champs in Brantford in April, and other upcoming competitions."