BARRHEAD – Richard Jacobs now has a few more medals to add to his collection.
Last week, Jacobs competed in the Canada 55 Plus Games in Kamloops, B.C., competing in four swimming events and coming back with medals in all of them — three gold and one silver.
Jacobs has been swimming almost all his entire life, including a stint in his youth where he swam competitively.
However, he took a long break and only resumed swimming competitively in 2005, when he competed at the Master Games in Edmonton at the age of 58. Since then, he has been a regular competitor at Alberta and Canada 55 Games events, including the most recent Alberta 55 Games in Peace River in mid-June, where he also won four gold medals in the 50 and 100-metre backstroke and freestyle events.
Jacobs spoke to the Leader four days after his last competition following a quick visit to the Leons Carpet and Paint, where he works part-time to show off his latest hardware.
"Overall, I was quite happy with my performance over the games, and I guess I just wanted to show off a bit," he said.
Jacobs travelled to the games with fellow Barrhead resident Bessie Stevens and her bowling team (Vern Kalmbach, Wayne Sheren, and Glen and Marge Thompson) in a mini-caravan leaving on Monday, Aug. 23 for a 10-and-a-half hour trip so they could sign in early the next day.
The opening ceremony complete, with the march of athletes, started on Wednesday, with Jacobs' competition beginning Thursday with his 50-metre events.
"It was quite a spectacle. There were more than 3,000 athletes from all the different sports," he said. "The organizers said that it was a new attendance record. I think it was because of COVID that everyone who qualified for the games wanted to take advantage of the opportunity."
The swimming events were at the Canada Games Aquatic Centre at Thompson Rivers University.
"It is a wonderful facility. They have a 50-metre pool there," he said.
However, Jacobs noted that all his races were in the smaller 25-metre pool, but the larger pool was available for swimmers to warm up.
Going into the first day of the competition, Jacobs said he was feeling a little run down, attributing it to the long car ride two days prior.
"Travelling is always tiring, and no matter how comfortable the vehicle, it is always a bit cramped, and your muscles get stiff," he said, adding that his races started in the early afternoon.
Despite not feeling his best, Jacobs managed to finish at the top of his heat with a time of 44:73, besting his nearest opponent by nearly a full second, taking the 50-metre freestyle event. The second event, the 50-metre backstroke, took place about an hour-and-a-half later, and this time he won the event by more than five seconds with a 49.41.
After the race, Wilton Littlechild, former Grand Chief of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations and Member of Parliament, swam with a group of young children, leaving two lanes open to honour the Indigenous children who passed away while attending residential schools.
Littlechild, who is also a residential school survivor, made national news recently when he presented Pope Francis with a ceremonial headdress during a ceremony in Maskwacis in late July.
"(Littlechild) was actually supposed to compete at the games, but he broke his hip recently and when he wasn't in the pool he was on crutches," Jacobs said.
The next day, Jacobs’ races started at about 10 a.m. Like the previous day, he opted to take the shuttle bus that took him from his hotel to the venue.
He had contemplated walking as the hotel was only a 10-minute walk but opted to save his energy for the pool. For the time Jacobs was in Kamloops, he also noted that the temperature was above 32 Celsius, so although he did tour the city's downtown area during his time off, he attempted to limit his time outdoors.
"I felt much better," he recalled about going into the second day of competition. "I'm not sure why, probably because I got the first-day jitters out of the way."
The first race of the day was the 100-metre freestyle, where Jacobs finished with a time of 1:47:55, good enough for the silver medal. He followed that up about two hours later by winning the 100-metre backstroke with a time of 1:55:56.
In between races, Jacobs would talk with his fellow competitors and intermittently watch the other races cheering the other athletes.
"It was so informal, and everyone seemed to be in the mood to talk," he said, adding that after the competition, he celebrated with a beer and a burger at a local pub.
As Jacobs did not have to compete the next day, he took the opportunity to explore the city once again, noting the Canada 55 Plus package included a city bus pass. But once again, he decided to cut his time short as the temperature was still above 30 Celsius, saying that it is difficult to go very far in Kamloops without encountering a hill.
As for his plans, he’s not sure but said he will continue to swim and or as long as he feels good, he will keep competing.
"The next Canada 55 Plus Games in two years are in Quebec, and I have never been to that part of the country, but when you are my age, two years can make a big difference, so I'll have to wait and see," he said.
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