{"id":781933,"date":"2026-07-05T14:28:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T14:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/781933\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T14:28:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T14:28:13","slug":"swimming-phenom-from-northern-alberta-is-rewriting-the-record-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/781933\/","title":{"rendered":"Swimming phenom from northern Alberta is ‘rewriting the record books’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 5 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

Oliver Dawson was grinning from ear to ear on Canada Day as he waved at crowds from his perch atop a Buick convertible that led a parade down one of Grande Prairie’s main drags.<\/p>\n

With two national swimming records and his sights set on an Olympic career, the 18-year-old from northwestern Alberta has a lot of reasons to smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s not simply winning races, he’s rewriting record books right now,\u201d said Swim Alberta executive director Shawn Holman. \u201cBut the big thing is he’s still improving at a pretty good rate here. So his trajectory is phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n

In May, Dawson set two new Canadian records in the men\u2019s breaststroke category at an international competition in London. He finished the 50-metre sprint in 27.29 seconds and 100-metre event in 59.33, eclipsing Canadian records set in 2009 and 2012 respectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still don’t think it’s hit me,\u201d Dawson told CBC News in an interview one day before he took on the role of parade marshal for the city\u2019s Canada Day festivities.<\/p>\n

Dawson fell 0.09 seconds short of beating the Canadian men\u2019s 200-metre breaststroke record at that competition, but said he expects there will be plenty of opportunities to try again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That record sits at 2:08.84 and was set by Mike Brown at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me to take the 50 [and] 100 shows that, hopefully, I can get the 200,\u201d Dawson said.<\/p>\n

\"ManOliver Dawson putting in the pool time at one of his final training sessions on June 30, before the 2026 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials in Montreal. (Eagle Andersen\/CBC)<\/p>\n

He will be competing at the 2026 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials in Montreal from July 5-9 and will represent Canada at the Commonwealth Games, which get underway in Scotland on July 23.<\/p>\n

Dawson currently has a bronze medal at the world swimming championships in Singapore and has competed in Australia, Hungary and the United States.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Holman said Dawson\u2019s young age makes his achievement even more impressive and called him \u201ca role model\u201d within the Alberta swimming community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat [Dawson] showcases is that you can become a competitive swimmer and a successful competitive swimmer from anywhere. You don’t need to be in a big city,\u201d Holman said, adding that having a facility, enough pool time and a strong coach are the most important aspects.<\/p>\n

His coach, coincidentally, is his father Alex Dawson.<\/p>\n

The family moved from England to Grande Prairie, about 450 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, when Oliver was seven so that Alex Dawson could take the job as coach and director of the Grande Prairie Piranhas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His decision to move was influenced by the quality of the Eastlink Aquatic Centre, built in 2013, and the improving calibre of Canadian swimmers at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a 50-metre, world-class facility. So to get that opportunity to coach an up-and-coming program was pretty exciting,\u201d Alex Dawson said.<\/p>\n

There were approximately 100 Grande Prairie Pirhana club members when Alex Dawson took over. Today, he said, there are 600 to 700 members between the various programs.<\/p>\n

\"fatherAlex and Oliver Dawson have spent much of their 11 years in Grande Prairie at the Eastlink Aquatic Centre. (Eagle Andersen\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Although Oliver Dawson was encouraged to try other sports like skiing, mountain biking or gymnastics, he always took to swimming.<\/p>\n

At first, he said, it was about spending time with friends and getting fit. But as he got stronger in the pool, new opportunities came his way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings like going to different countries, representing your country, stuff like that \u2013 that\u2019s what made the sport so special, being able to experience things that other people might not get to experience,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Olympic dreams\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oliver Dawson said although his father\u2019s coaching and access to superb facilities has been crucial to his success so far, he\u2019s looking forward to September when he\u2019ll become a student-athlete starting his scholarship at Indiana University.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m going to train under Ray Looze, one of the best breaststroke coaches ever at one of the best breaststroke unis in the world, and I’m hoping to stay there for about six years,\u201d Oliver said.<\/p>\n

If all goes as planned, he said he hopes to represent Canada at the 2028 and 2032 Olympics.<\/p>\n

His dad will also be leaving Grande Prairie in the fall. Alex Dawson will start as a performance coach at the Killarney Swim Club in Calgary for the 2026-27 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He is confident that swimmers will continue to find success in Grande Prairie without the Dawsons involved, due to the other instructors, facilities and culture now in place.<\/p>\n

WATCH | A Family Affair: An interview with Oliver and Alex Dawson:\"\"<\/p>\n

A Family Affair: Canadian breaststroke record-holder Oliver Dawson & father\/coach Alex Dawson<\/p>\n

Joining The Ready Room is a father\/son duo that is winning awards and breaking records. Oliver Dawson recently set the Canadian records in the men’s 50M & 100M breaststroke and was .09s from the 200M record, cheered on and coached by his father Alex Dawson, both sitting down with Britt on this episode.<\/p>\n

As for his son, Alex Dawson said whether or not Oliver accomplishes his goals will be entirely up to him \u2013 though being under Looze\u2019s tutelage is a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s no ceiling to what he could do if he wants to continue on that path,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 5 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":781934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,44],"class_list":["post-781933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=781933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/781934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=781933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=781933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=781933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}