South Surrey swimmers earn medal success at provincials, Commonwealth Games
Published 2:15 pm Monday, August 17, 2026
Several South Surrey-based swimmers with the Pacific Sea Wolves have had some smashing success in the pool so far this summer.
The PSW swimmers and Para swimmers, who train with head coach Jy Lawrence at Grandview Aquatic Centre, came in second overall in the entire province at the B.C. provincial championships in Kamloops earlier this summer, then Para swimmer Mary Jibb won Canada’s first medal — a bronze — at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
“I was very proud of her ability to push through adversity — this year has been challenging, as she was assigned a new sport class, and to have this success at the end of that is so exciting!” Lawrence said earlier this month, after the Commonwealth Games concluded. “(Jibb) was very excited about the result, the best time, the medal and being the first medalist for Canada was icing on the cake for sure.”
Fellow Para swimmer Sebastian Massabie broke a Canadian record in the S5 50 free event before he raced in the S7 sports class — up two classes from the S5 class.
“I think it was challenging for him to push himself, knowing he would be fighting for last or second-last, but he did a great job focusing on himself and putting up a best time,” Lawrence said, commending Massabie’s efforts.
Lawrence also shared how proud she was of her swimmers and their performance at the provincial championships in Kamloops.
“This is the largest team (54 athletes) PSW has ever sent to provincials and I am so proud of how far the team has come,” Lawrence told the Peace Arch News. “I could not do it without my exceptional staff and how dedicated each of them are to progressing the athletes they have. Having been the head coach for the last seven-plus years is starting to show in what we are building and I am very excited for what is to come.”
The 54 athletes at provincials were aged 10-18 and swam in up to eight events each, plus relays, with the 15-17-year-old boys taking gold in all three relay events, Lawrence noted, and PSW also won the open age category 4×200 free on the boys’ side.
Lawrence, who was just in California for the Pan Pacific Championships Aug. 10-16, will travel back to California at the end of the month for the Para Pan Pacific Championships as well.
“Our summer of racing doesn’t end until Aug. 30,” she said, adding that overall, the summer’s experiences have been amazing. “It’s been pretty awesome.”