Okanagan Olympic-bound athlete given fan sendoff

WEST KELOWNA, B.C. – Kierra Smith’s “pre-race ritual includes numerous checks of Twitter and listening to Gwen Stefani”, according to her official Canadian Olympic Team profile.

But there’s no doubt the 22-year-old takes her road to Rio very seriously.

“She always seems to figure out how to win,” says her father, Andrew Smith.

Small successes in the last 12 years have added up and the Kelowna athlete finally achieved a gold medal and event record at the Pan Am Games in Toronto in 2015, where she competed in the 200 metre breaststroke.

The Okanagan athlete will compete in both the 100 and 200 metre events at the Olympic Summer Games in Brazil this August.

Smith’s success has been an inspiration to other members of the West Kelowna Liquid Lightning Swim Club.

The club gave her a sendoff Wednesday evening at the Johnson Bentley Aquatic Centre where she trains with coach Emil Dimitrov.

Smith will first travel to Toronto for her final training sessions and then join Canada’s Olympic team in Rio.