London, ON - Week one of the Tokyo Olympics is coming to an end, and Canadian Women Swimmers have already brought home some hardware for our country. For Mustangs fans, swimming events on Friday July 29 will be extra exciting as our very own Samantha Roberts will be competing in the Women's 50m Freestyle.

Unlike many of the Mustangs athletes currently competing who are Alumni, Roberts is a current Western student and will be entering her 4th year at Brescia University College this fall. However, before she returns to the Mustangs Varsity Swimming team, Roberts will be representing Antigua & Barbuda in what will be her second appearance at the Olympic Games!



We spoke to Roberts, and she shared how her experience at Western has helped her prepare for the Olympics; saying: "whilst being at Western, I was able to receive a great specified training program, which contributed to my best times. I was also surrounded by the most motivational and close-knit team, which pushed me to do my best during the Swim season."

Roberts' swim routine has looked a bit different this past year due to the pandemic; and as a result, she was training at her home swim club in Antigua. As of April, Roberts transferred to Azura Swim Club in Florida where she specifically trained for the Olympics alongside other Olympians. Her pre-competition routine consisted of ten in-pool training sessions and seven dryland sessions per week. After the Olympics, Roberts looks forward to taking a break before she begins her last swim season with the varsity team back at Western. 

Coaches play a large role in building team chemistry and setting a standard. Head coach of the Mustangs Swimming team, Paul Midgley, shared his initial reaction to news of Roberts securing an Olympic spot, saying he was "Very excited to hear it. It's a great opportunity to expand her skills, that she can then bring back to Western." Roberts' initial reaction was similar to her coach's; She said, "After being chosen to represent Antigua & Barbuda at the Olympics, I felt proud and excited to compete on that level. However, because of how the past year has been with Covid, I was a bit worried at first." To compete at the highest level, Roberts has learned that the mental training of sport is just as important as the physical component. Her coach in Florida instilled this message with her and provided Roberts with some great advice. "My coach in Florida had a different focus on swimming compared to my other coaches, which was to recognize that everything in swimming is mental. Once your mind is there, it doesn't matter what was done to prepare. Also, to ensure that you don't let anything external affect you mentally otherwise it messes with the swim." Roberts said.

Roberts says that Simone Manuel is her sports role model, due to her drive and passion. When discussing her own strengths, Roberts described herself as being determined, fierce, and focused, all of which she also says can also be used to describe her role model. Simone Manuel is an athlete who made a name for herself at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and who tied with Canadian Swimmer Penny Oleksiak to win Gold in the Women's 100m freestyle. At the time, this was one of the most unexpected events of the games that year due to the fact that neither competitor were favourites to win, however both pulled upset wins when they simultaneously hit the wall.

Although Roberts' event isn't until Friday, viewers may have already seen her on television, and this is because she had the honour of being the flag bearer for Antigua. We asked Roberts what else she was looking forward to at the Olympics and she said, "to compete, eat the food, and see other top athletes." Specifically, when it comes to competing, Roberts enjoys the high energy around the pool and the feeling of getting ready to sprint the fastest she has ever sprinted in the water.

The Western Mustangs are so proud of all of our athletes, coaches, and officials who are taking part in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games this summer, and are continuing to cheer them on from London, ON as they compete on the world stage. Best of luck Samantha!

View the full Olympic schedule in your local time zone at https://olympic.ca/tokyo-2020-olympic-schedule/.

Stay Tuned as we continue to feature Mustangs at this summer's Tokyo Olympic Games!