Muskoka Aquatic Club (MUSAC) member Matthew Kuusk had great success at the 2020 Winter Ontario Youth-Junior Championships on March 5-7.
The Grade 9 student at Huntsville High School placed second in the 100m breaststroke and third in the 200m breaststroke.
His 100m silver also broke the MUSAC club record for breaststroke in that distance. His time qualified him for the Canadian Junior Championships which are scheduled to take place in July.
MUSAC coach Morgan Kierstead said, “Matt has had an exceptional season thus far. His performance at Ontario Youth-Junior Championships is just the beginning. He has already qualified for Canadian Junior Championships which will be hosted in Montreal in July. It is a competition open to only the most elite age-group swimmers in the country.”
Kuusk’s bronze medal swim qualified him for the Eastern Nationals.
Matthew Kuusk with his silver and bronze medals from the Winter Ontario Youth-Junior Championships (supplied)
At the championships, Kuusk also competed with his teammates in the 4x50m medley and broke MUSAC’s club record. He now holds MUSAC’s club record for 100M and 50M breaststroke for the 13-14 age group.
This is Kuusk’s fifth year swimming competitively, but he has been taking swimming lessons since he was two years old. He decided on his own to start competing so that he could make improvements to his swimming technique and to keep progressing the way he has wanted to. That includes training in the pool eight times a week as well as running on the cross-country team and cross-country ski teams at Huntsville High School.
At swim meets, Kuusk says his favourite swim style is the breaststroke with his greatest successes in the 50m, 100m and 200m. He also occasionally competes in the 50m free, the 100m fly and the 200m IM.
His most memorable swim moment so far is when he earned the bronze medal at an international swim meet last year.
“I swim because I enjoy the workout I get from it and I love competing,” said Kuusk. “I would like to achieve a sport that I will continue doing for my entire life… I would like to swim all throughout high school and maybe after high school, too.”
He will continue to train and improve his swimming technique with the goal of making it to the Canadian Swimming Trials—a competitive meet that qualifies swimmers for the Canadian swim team—by next year.
A shout-out, as well, to the entire MUSAC team for placing 17th out of 88 teams at the Winter Ontario Youth-Junior Championships.
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Félicitations Matthew. I always knew you had it in you. I will keep looking for your name in the sports news
Kudos, Matt, for your outstanding achievement. My son was a member of the Canadian team forty years ago (specialty: backstroke). With your unique last name, I’m going to extrapolate to the fact that Tracy is your mother. (I get most of my exercise these days jumping to conclusion.) Please give her my best; and if she is a relative of another ilk, I apologize.
Great Young Man. High Five Matthew!!!!