Mia Wittal (middle). (Image Credit: Quinn Meredith / Kamloops Classic Swimming)

By Marty Hastings

Team on rise

Wittal of Kamloops Classic Swimming wins nine medals at provincials, sets eight club records

Mar 16, 2026 | 4:19 PM

KAMLOOPS — Changes are coming to the Kamloops Classic Swimming wall of records at club headquarters.

Mia Wittal set eight club marks and won nine medals – six gold, two silver and one bronze – at the Provincial Winter Swimming Championships earlier this month in Victoria. 

“I think it was the determination and dedication to the sport,” Wittal, 12, said when asked what pushed her to the medal haul. “I did not have any really good [preliminary] swims in the morning, but at night I wanted to win and I came out really happy.”   

Wittal won gold in the 50- and 100-metre butterfly, gold in the 200m backstroke, gold in the 100m and 200m freestyle, gold in the 200m individual medley, silver in the 50m and 200m breaststroke and bronze in the 50m freestyle. 

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“I’m so happy with that,” Wittal said. “There is this girl named Sienna Angove who’s got a bunch of the club records and she’s really fast. I’m starting to get a lot of her club records, which makes me really happy.”   

Wittal, Molly Brookes, Ryder Crichton (who set one club record in his age group), Maci Dixon, Quinn Meredith (who posted PBs in each of his three events), Sawyer Nabozniak, Elise Percy, Tenley Post and Dylan Steele of the Classics were among the nearly 700 swimmers in action on Vancouver Island. 

They combined to tally 20 finals swims and 34 personal-best times. 

“Our club did great,” Wittal said. “I think the future can be more people medalling, more people making finals, hopefully doubling the amount of people we had at provincials.” 

Wittal, who earned the Individual Aggregate Award in the 12-and-under girls’ division at provincials, is chasing one of Summer McIntosh’s national records. 

Three-time Olympic champion McIntosh (28.64 seconds) holds the Canadian 50m fly record in the long course 11- and 12-year-old girls’ division, with a .03-second lead on second-place Wittal.  

The Kamloops swimmer has until May 12 — the date on which she graduates from the age division — to catch McIntosh. 

“There’s going to be a one-day meet here in Kamloops in April and that will be one of my big chances to get the 50 fly Canadian record because it’s at a home pool and I know this pool better,” Wittal said.