For a swimmer who didn't get started in the sport until his teenage years, Kyle Pinsonneault is making waves as a young adult.
The 21-year-old Chatham native is preparing for a busy summer on the competitive scene before switching colleges in the fall.
Pinsonneault is transferring from Union College in Barbourville, Ky., to Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. He has already signed his letter of intent to attend IIT, where he will study human resources management.
"It's the fourth ranked swim team in the nation," Pinsonneault said of the NAIA Div. I school.
"It's an opportunity I can't pass up."
He felt he wasn't progressing as he had hoped in his freshman year at Union and expects better training and coaching at IIT.
"I believe Kyle has national champion potential for us and I am excited to help him achieve his full potential," said IIT swim coach Rob Bond in a press release.
He added that Pinsonneault will specialize in the sprint freestyle events for Illinois Tech.
In his short time at Union, he set school records in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events at the NAIA meet in March. He placed 14th in the 100-freestyle and 12th in the 'B' final in the 50. He also swam on the 200-freestyle and 200-medley relay teams, which also set school records at the championships.
Before heading to Chicago, Pinsonneault will be swimming in numerous major competitions across Canada and the United States, representing the Blenheim Foxtales swim team.
He will be in the London Invitational this weekend, a tune-up for next weekend's U.S. Grand Prix in Ann Arbor against some of the top swimmers in North America.
Among his other competitions this summer are the Bell Canada Montreal Grand Prix, the U.S. Grand Prix in Charlotte, N.C., and the U.S. sectional championships in Minneapolis.
Changing schools and a busy summer schedule all lead up to Pinsonneault's long-range goal.
"The 2008 Olympic trials," he said.
Many Olympic athletes begin chasing their dream not long after they learn to walk. National-calibre swimmers, for example, usually begin their craft as young as five years old, getting up in the wee hours to practice before going to school.
Pinsonneault missed all the fun of those 5 a.m. alarms as a youngster.
He never started swimming competitively until high school.
"I played every sport, but didn't swim ... except in the backyard pool ... until high school," he said.
Pinsonneault's family moved to Essex after completing Grade 4 at Our Lady of Fatima school in Chatham.
He went out for the Essex District High School swim team, following in the footsteps of his older brother Eric.
Pinsonneault moved back to Chatham after graduating from Essex. He worked for a year while swimming for the Foxtales and the Chatham Pool Sharks under coach Brian Lindsay.
When Lindsay left the Pool Sharks, Pinsonneault followed him to the Markham Aquatic Club, where he trained for a year while attending Seneca College.
While in Markham, Pinsonneault caught the eye of former Canadian Olympic assistant coach Michel Berube.
It was the training at Markham, Pinsonneault said, that turned around his fortunes. Berube and Lindsay helped pave the path to Union for Pinsonneault.
"I have no clue," he said, trying to explain his success despite such a late start in the sport.
"I love the water ... and I love the challenge of racing against the clock."
Pinsonneault needed financial help to compete on his own this summer and found it from a new business in Chatham.
Mark Alexander, owner of ALUMpro Building Products Plus on Queen Street, is sponsoring Pinsonneault, helping pay the expenses of transportation, meals, lodging and meet fees.
Performance Health & Fitness also stepped up to the plate to assist Pinsonneault with his training.
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