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Estevan athlete wins medal while representing Canada in artistic swimming dryland event

A talented young artistic swimmer from Estevan has won a medal while representing Canada in a dryland event.
Haley Copeland pic
Haley Copeland

A talented young artistic swimmer from Estevan has won a medal while representing Canada in a dryland event.

Haley Copeland captured the bronze medal at a Union Americana de Naticion (UANA) Artistic Swimming Virtual Championship competition on Saturday.

Since the artistic swimming season ended early this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, provincials were held online, using dryland exercises instead of traditional events in the pool. The dryland exercises, such as burpees and the standing Y, are used in training for artistic swimming to build strength, endurance and flexibility.

A burpee sees people do a vertical jump then drop down to the ground for a pushup, then return to their feet, jump again and perform a 360-degree spin.

The Y competition, meanwhile, sees participants stand on one leg, with the other leg wrapped around the head.

“At the provincial competition, I placed first in the standing Y and the burpee competition, which moved me onto the Canadian nationals,” Copeland said.

She was third in the standing Y and first in burpee at nationals, which punched her ticket to the UANA international event.

At UANA, Copeland finished third in a competition with 180 competitors from 19 countries, as she completed 10 burpees in the 30-second time limit.

“We’re marked on form and the quality of our burpees, as well as the quantity,” said Copeland.

She’s pleased with how well she did at UANA. She had hoped to do at least nine burpees in the time limit. , even though she had done 10 in 30 seconds previously.

The competition included people who are going to the Olympics next year.

“It was fun because we got to see how different countries interact with everybody, and it was just a really cool experience,” Copeland said. 

Copeland started in artistic swmming in Estevan and swam here for several years. The past two years she has been part of the Weyburn Artistic Swimming Club.