98-year-old B.C. woman presented Swimming Excellence Award at Calgary competition
A 98-year-old woman from British Columbia is already making a big splash at a Calgary swimming competition.
Betty (Elizabeth) Brussel, who hails from Surrey, B.C., is participating in the 2023 Speedo Canadian Masters Championships at the MNP Community and Sport Centre.
Though the competition just began on Friday, Brussel was leading her first heat in the 400 metre, and is among three athletes and coaches who are being recognized at the competition for their contributions and excellence in and out of the pool.
Brussel is taking home the Swimming Excellence Award, given out annually to a Masters swimmer who has demonstrated consistent and outstanding results at the highest levels of competitions in Masters swimming.
“I was totally surprised, I never expected it,” Brussel said in a news release.
“You know, winning has never been the most important thing to me. I always was happy that I could still do it. I was just as happy if I had a good time. I am competitive, I go for it, I have a lot of willpower, but it’s not the most important thing to me."
WHERE IT STARTED
Betty (Elizabeth) Brussel competes in the 2023 Speedo Canadian Masters Championships at the MNP Community and Sport Centre in Calgary on Friday, May 26, 2023. Born in Holland in 1924, Brussel learned to swim in the canals near Amsterdam.
These days, she's in the pool twice a week with her swim club, the White Rock Wave.
"The pool is my happy place," she told CTV News.
Brussel has survived a heart attack, but never wavered in her 30 years as a competitive swimmer.
"(I) always go back to swimming because once you are back in the pool, you forget everything," she said.
SWIMMING SUPPORTS SENIORS
Greg Mcleod, president of the Calgary Masters Swim Club, says he isn't surprised swimming is central to Brussel's life.
"Swimming is such a great direction for elderly people to go to for exercise, because its so low impact," he explained.
"Clubs like this bring in a lot of the community, and a social network for elderly people to have."
Brussel's friends say she's an inspiration.
"If she can do it, why can't I?" said Joan Gunn-Allard. "I'm swimming until I'm 90, and after that I don't care…. but you know what? I can go to 99."
NO LIFE HACK
Betty (Elizabeth) Brussel competes in the 2023 Speedo Canadian Masters Championships at the MNP Community and Sport Centre in Calgary on Friday, May 26, 2023. Brussel came to Calgary to race in the 800, 400, 200, 100 and 50-m freestyle along with 50-m breaststroke.
"If I don't win, if I have a good time, I'm happy too," she said.
Brussel – who lives independently, without complex medical conditions other than hearing aids – says there's no big secret to her athleticism or her longevity.
"(It's) nothing special. I do walk a lot and I worked all my life."
The 2023 Speedo Canadian Masters Championships continue through until Sunday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.
What's causing the catastrophic rainfall in Kenya?
The torrential rains and deadly floods that have hit Kenya since March have been some of the worst in the country in recent years. Here's how factors combined to create the deadly deluge.