The following is a press release courtesy of Swimming Canada:
OTTAWA – Swimming Canada’s Big Splash Awards Week is underway as Nathan Stein of Maple Ridge, B.C., was named the Team Aquatic Supplies Male Para-swimmer of the Year today.
The annual award recognizes the best performance by a Canadian male Para-swimmer at the premier international meet of the year. This year’s premier international meet, the Pan Pacific Para-swimming Championships, took place in Pasadena, Calif., in August.
The 22-year-old from the Surrey Knights Swim Club broke two of Paralympic legend Benoit Huot’s national records in the S10 disability category. In Pasadena, the 2012 Paralympian returned from an injury-plagued 2013 season to win the gold medal in the 100-m butterfly and silver in the 100-m freestyle. In the fly, Stein smashed Huot’s previous mark clocking 57.77 seconds and in the free he finished in 52.86, almost a half second better than Huot’s standard. Huot, a 19-time Paralympic medallist, has won the award 10 of the last 11 years.
Stein’s coach, Reg Shaw, will also receive the Team Aquatic Supplies Coach of the Year (Male Para-swimmer) award.
Big Splash Awards Week continues through Friday, with a major award announced each day through a variety of media. The OMEGA Male and Female Swimmer of the Year will be revealed later in the week, as will the Team Aquatic Supplies Female Para-swimmer, and the corresponding coach awards.