Blake Tierney ready to make a splash for Canada at Paris Olympics

Saskatoon’s Blake Tierney is about to live out his Olympic dream in Paris.

The 22-year-old swimmer qualified for the Paris Games at the Olympic trials in Toronto this past May. He’ll make his Olympic debut this weekend, representing Canada in the 100- and 200-metre backstroke events.

“It’s still kind of surreal to think about,” he said.

“It’s been such big dream of mine to do this, and now that it’s actually happening it’s pretty surreal.”

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After he qualified for the 100-metre backstroke, he went on to break the Canadian record in the 200-metre backstroke at this summer’s Olympic trials. He posted a time of 1:56.74, two and a half seconds faster than his previous personal best.

Tierney said he was shocked to learn that he’d broken the Canadian record.

“When I set it, I didn’t know how fast I was going. I touched the wall and heard on the speakers it was a Canadian record. I was very surprised by it,” he explained.

“I didn’t really go into that competition thinking about a Canadian record in that race, so I was very surprised and happy with that result.”

Tierney, who was originally born in Ontario, started swimming when he was four years old. He said swimming has always been something he’s loved.

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“I moved to Saskatoon for high school and swam with the Goldfins Swim Club. Paul Armstrong and Steven Hitchings – the head coaches there – I think those two individuals helped me take the sport to the next level,” he explained.

“I kind of got onto that national level, and then after high school I was able to get recruited to UBC. I trained with UBC for two years and then progressed to the high performance centre and training under Scott Talbot.”

Tierney said going to the Olympics is something he’s always had in the back of his mind, but he didn’t think it was possible to get there until the last few years.

“I was close to (qualifying) in 2021 for Tokyo. This time around I believed in myself a lot more because I’ve gained a lot of experience since the last Olympics,” he said. “This time around it felt more achievable.”

Some of that experience he gained was with the Canadian national team. He swam for them at the 2023 Pan Am Games in Chile and has gone to the world championships as well. He said he thinks that experience will help him on the world’s biggest stage.

“(The Pan Am Games) was my first national event with Canada. That was a super cool event. I imagine the Olympics will be a lot similar to that, but probably a bigger scale with the games, village and the environment they have. I also went to worlds this year in Doha, Qatar, so I got to see international and high competition. I’m pretty confident heading into Paris,” he explained,

Tierney has lived in Vancouver for a number of years, but said he still stays true to his prairie roots in Saskatchewan and admits he misses living on the prairies.

“I like it there so much. My grandparents lived there (Saskatchewan) my whole life. I wouldn’t say I’m a Vancouver person. I try to go home to Saskatchewan any chance I get. I get some fishing in and try to visit loved ones,” he said.

“I prefer the quiet, small-town type vibe that Saskatoon offers. It’s kind of overwhelming over here. I don’t drive over here, but the traffic is a big thing and I just love being able to see on for kilometres in Saskatchewan,” Tierney added. “That’s something I took for granted driving to the pool every day at five in the morning.”

Tierney is hoping he can achieve some personal goals during the Olympics, but also just enjoy the entire experience.