Chris Alexander is ending his season on a high note.
The Lethbridge Pronghorns’ fourth-year swimmer captured gold in the 50-metre backstroke with a time of 25.91 seconds, helping the Horns men finish sixth overall.
The big win happened at the U Sports swimming championships last weekend at the University of Victoria.
“There was a lot of pressure in getting to the final and then when I was in the final I had to have a good start, get up there with the (other swimmers),” Alexander said.
“I knew if I was able to stay with them at the start I’d be able to win the race, so it was pretty exciting when I came right up there with them.”
“I’ve been swimming for quite a long time and that isn’t something I thought I would ever achieve.”
It was a big moment for the swimmer, his coach said.
“Chris has been one of the top backstrokers in Canada for a few years now, but he hasn’t been able to kind of break all the way through,” said Pronghorns swimming head coach Peter Schori.
“He’s never actually won a Canada West championship. To win a U Sports national championship before winning a Canada West championship is a little bit unique.”
It’s been a long road to national gold. In December 2019, Alexander suffered a serious and complicated foot injury in a tobogganing accident.
“I dislocated my whole midfoot, lisfranc fracture, broke a lot of bones,” Alexander said.
“I spent four nights in the hospital. It took a surgery to put everything back together. It was actually about four months before I was able to put weight on it.”
After undergoing a second surgery six months post-injury to remove metal implants from his foot, it took Alexander two years before he returned to a normal training routine.
“It was kind of challenging to stick with the sport through those two years,” Alexander said.
“It’s hard when you see all your teammates swimming and things aren’t working. My foot wasn’t allowing me to do the things I wanted to do.”
Feeling healthier, Alexander picked up a bronze in the 50-metre backstroke at last year’s championships.
He spent the past offseason improving his lower-body strength.
“I gained like 20 pounds throughout the summer, most of that was in my legs,” Alexander said.
It laid the groundwork for his first-place finish in 2023.
“My starts, some of the best in that heat and my underwaters have improved immensely, so a combination of those two was able to bump me up from third to first,” Alexander said.
Capping a journey that’s impressed those around him.
“He had his foot basically rebuilt. Your feet are pretty important in all sports, but in swimming it’s like half of your propulsion comes from your kick,” Schori said.
“In terms of overcoming pain and gaining back mobility, strength and confidence as an athlete, he’s come a long way to get to this point.”
It’s a moment Alexander hopes to carry into his final year of U Sports eligibility next season.
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