Three Lifesaving Club of Markham (LCM) athletes will be saying ‘arrivederci’ to Markham and ‘ciao’ to Italy after qualifying to compete in the International Lifesaving World Championships this fall.
Chloe Chen, Justin Huynh, Ahad Sadri Esfanjani are part of the national team that will represent Canada in Riccione in northern Italy from September 27 through October 2.
The three swimmers have been training together for several years at the Markham Pan Am Centre. The premier sport complex hosts international, national, provincial and community-level sports events and with its Olympic-sized pool, is also ideal for high-performance athlete training.
The International Life Saving Federation organizes the International Lifesaving World Championships. The competition takes places every two years and showcases excellence in lifesaving sports and rescue, attracting the world’s most talented and skilled lifesaving athletes.
Lifesaving sport involves “a variety of competitions to further develop and demonstrate lifesaving skills, fitness and motivation,” according to the Lifesaving Society, and has the unique distinction of being the only sport in which skills are learned for humanitarian purposes and then applied in competition.
Lifesaving sport is a demanding, multidisciplinary sport that combines athletic ability with lifesaving skills and rescue equipment. Though it was recently recognized as a sport by the International Olympic Committee and the Commonwealth Games Federation, it’s not yet part of their programs.
Photo of Lifesaving Club of Markham athletes Ahad Sadri Esfanjani (left) and Chloe Chen (right) courtesy of the Markham Pan Am Centre.
