Michelle Williams.
Michelle Williams swims at the 2009 Canada Games last August.
Photo/COURTESY
When you take into consideration that her parents were elite athletes, her older sister was a former national gymnastics team member and her older brother is an über-athlete, it should come as little surprise Michelle Williams is an emerging international swimming talent that inked a full-ride swim scholarship recently with NCAA Division 1 University of Ohio.
Williams' rise to prominence hasn't been without its delays or setbacks, however.
The 19-year-old Vaughan Road Academy honours student migrated with her family from Pretoria, South Africa to Toronto in 1997 and settled in the community.
Born with a cleft palate that posed some medical problems in the early years, she took to the water much later than many of her current stature.
"I didn't start until I was eight. I had tubes in my ears so I couldn't put my head under water," she said. "I've always loved the water I just couldn't go under."
Her mom, Elsie, decided shortly after arriving in Canada her youngest "needed to be water safe," so she signed her up to a reasonably-priced city run program.
"She went pretty quickly through the levels," she said, pointing out she then moved her on to the North York Development Swim Club - the entry level development side of NYAC now called Waves.
"Every year she got better and better. She had the determination that I thought was very unusual for a young ten-year-old."
There wasn't a lot of money to go around back then, which meant Williams was restricted to the low-cost aqua program despite lots of interest from above.
"They (club coaches) kept asking me to move up, but it would've meant thousands of dollars more with all the training and we couldn't afford to start the higher intro level, so I stuck with Waves," said Williams, who specializes in the 50m free, 100m free and 100m.
She eventually graduated to the development division and thankfully, at age 16, she was awarded Ontario carding. Funding began to trickle in to offset some of her swimming costs, "which really helped us out a lot," she said.
Last year, her first real year on the international circuit, she qualified for her first international event, the Pan Pacific Championships in Guam, and cracked the senior national B team that competed in England.
She also anchored the Canadian relay team that won at the Tri Nations Cup and helped lower the senior 4x50m relay record (1:50.18) at the Canada Summer Games last summer.
Williams turned down a number of offers including University of Calgary and Texas A&M where former club mate and good friend Julia Wilkinson is currently completing her final year of a swim scholarship.
In January Williams had jaw surgery that has kept her poolside in recent weeks, but she's back and preparing for the long course nationals. The meet doubles as trials for the Pan Pacific Games.
Shortly after that Williams will pack up and head for The Buckeye State.
The women's team, headed by second-year coach Bill Dorenkott, finished fifth this year in the Big 10 conference.
The men won the conference this year.
"I'm excited to work with the coach," she said. "He's definitely one of the reasons why I chose that school. I read a lot about him, his training and coaching philosophy I can really relate to.
"He wants you to be a good person and if you have your priorities straight - your family, school and your own values - then your swimming will come with it."
Loyal and a true leader, longtime NYAC head coach Murray Drudge said Williams has a genuine yearning to win and seems to always be there to be counted when needed.
"Michelle will leave a legacy that will have a huge impact on the next generation of (NYAC) athletes," he said. "Her example and compassion for others will no doubt influence and inspire others yet to follow for many years to come."