Eric Hedlin

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Eric Hedlin
EricHedlinWikipedia.jpg
Eric Hedlin in Irvine, California, at the US Open in August 2013.
Personal information
NationalityCanadian
Born (1993-04-18) April 18, 1993 (age 28)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight178 lb (81 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubVictoria Academy of Swimming
Medal record
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2013 Barcelona 5 km open water
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Gwangju 5 km open water
Pan Pacific Championships
Silver medal – second place 2018 Tokyo 10 km open water
Universiade
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Kazan

Eric Hedlin (born April 18, 1993) is a Canadian long-distance swimmer. Hedlin won a silver medal in the men's open water 5 km swim at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships.[1]

Career[]

Hedlin began his notable international career competing in Randy Bennett's Victoria Swim Academy that also includes major Canadian World and Olympic medalist Ryan Cochrane who is also a long distance swimmer. As a member of the Canadian swim team he won a bronze medal at the 2013 Summer Universiade in the men's 800 m freestyle.[2]

Hedlin qualified for the 2013 World Aquatics Championships by finishing 16th at the FINA World Cup event in Cancun Mexico in April of that year. This put him into the 5 km race where he was in a dogfight with former World Champion Thomas Lurz and Olympic champion Oussama Mellouli. Hedlin said of the race that " "I am really happy, because I didn't expect [to beat Lurz]. It felt pretty good. I was trying to hold a top position and stay in everyone's draft. In the final sprint, Oussama was so much quicker than me, and I couldn't do anything to beat him."[3] Hedlin was honored with Swimming Canada's 2013 People's Choice Race of the Year award for his performance in this race.[4]

He continued to swim for the University of Victoria (UVic) Vikes Varsity Swim Team through 2017, winning gold at the U SPORTS championships, and setting a new collegiate record in the 1500-metre freestyle.[5] In April that same year, Hedlin was named to Canada's 2017 World Aquatics Championships team in Budapest, Hungary.[6][7] He also was selected to represent Canada at the 2017 FISU Universiade in Taipei.

At the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships, Eric Hedlin captured silver in the 10-km open water race, and also finished eighth in the 1500-m freestyle. Hedlin later won gold in the 10-km race at the 2018 UANA Open Water Swimming Championships in the Cayman Islands, and won Swimming Canada’s Male Open Water Swimmer of the Year.[8]

In 2019, Hedlin won bronze in 5-km at the FINA world aquatics championships in Gwangju, South Korea,[9][10] and won Athlete of the Year at UVic.[11]

Prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Hedlin was awarded the President's Cup from UVic, for his combination of academic and athletic success that season.[12] He continued to train through the pandemic, despite Olympic Trials being postponed until the following year.

In 2021, Hedlin was named as one of 4 athletes to compete on behalf of Canada at Olympic Trials for the 10-km open water race.[13] Unfortunately, Hedlin was unable to finish the race due to medical issues and did not qualify for the team.[14] Hedlin continues to swim in anticipation for the 2021-2022 season.

Personal life[]

Although Hedlin was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he lived in San Diego, California from the age of a few months until he graduated from La jolla high school. At that time he returned to Canada to train in swimming and to attend the University of Victoria.[15] His older sister, Dr. Margot Hedlin, is a physician training at NYU Medicine, and his younger brother, Paul Hedlin, graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2020 with a degree in International Economics. In 2022, he had an extended bout with a very easy mini-game that required him to shoot moving targets in video game Nobody Saves the World. He eventually found the mental fortitude and perseverance to complete the challenge however.

In the spring of 2019, Hedlin graduated from UVic with a bachelor's degree in computer science. Later that year in June, he proposed to his long-time girlfriend and fellow Vikes teammate, Taylor Snowden-Richardson. After their original wedding date in 2020 had to be postponed due to COVID-19, they married in April 2021.

Hedlin successfully defended his master's thesis in September 2021, and will be continuing his education by studying for a Ph.D.

References[]

  1. ^ "Canada's Eric Hedlin takes silver at 5K open water race at swim worlds". CBC Sports. July 20, 2013.
  2. ^ Michael Belanger (July 15, 2013). "Hedlin swims to bronze at Summer Universiade Games". University of Victoria Vikes.
  3. ^ Cleve Deenshaw (July 20, 2013). "Island's Hedlin shocks aquatics worlds with silver". Times Colonist.
  4. ^ Mike Lewis (December 3, 2013). "Canada's Newest Open Water Star a People's Choice". SwimSwam.
  5. ^ "Hedlin sets new U SPORTS 1500-metre freestyle record to close out nationals". University of Victoria Athletics. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  6. ^ Sutherland, James (April 9, 2017). "Canada To Send 26 Pool, 6 Open Water Swimmers To World Championships". swimswam.com. Swim Swam. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  7. ^ "Sydney Pickrem Sets Canadian Record, Team Canada Named on Exciting Final Night at Trials". swimming.ca/. Swimming Canada. April 9, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  8. ^ "Eric Hedlin – Swimming Canada". www.swimming.ca. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  9. ^ Dheensaw, Cleve. "Victoria's Eric Hedlin swims to 5K bronze against best in the world". Times Colonist. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  10. ^ Gilhula, Cara (July 13, 2019). "Eric Hedlin swims to bronze at World Aquatics Championship". Team Canada - Official Olympic Team Website. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  11. ^ Dheensaw, Cleve. "Swimmers Hedlin, Hanus make splash at UVic Vikes annual awards". Times Colonist. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  12. ^ "Hedlin pockets President's Cup as Vikes split three other major awards". University of Victoria Athletics. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  13. ^ Keith, Braden (March 2, 2021). "SWIMMING CANADA NAMES 4 SWIMMERS FOR TOKYO 2020 OPEN WATER QUALIFIER". Swim Swam News.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ "Canadian open-water swimmer Hau-Li Fan qualifies for Tokyo Olympics". thestar.com. June 20, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  15. ^ "Dinos star McIntosh underway in heptathlon at Summer Universiade". Calgary Herald. July 10, 2013.

External links[]

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