Andrew MacKay from Thompson finished seventh in the 10-kilometre open water swim at the 2009 Canada Games in Prince Edward Island Aug. 29, completing the course in 2:24:13, about 20 minutes behind gold medallist Richard Anton Weinberger of British Columbia, who swam the race in 2:03:57.
Earlier in the games, MacKay finished 13th in the male 200-metre butterfly Aug. 25. MacKay, 18, placed fifth in the consolation final with a time of 2:11.19 after placing fifth in the third heat with a time of 2:10.48.
In the 1,500-metre freestyle swim Aug. 28, MacKay was 15th overall with a time of 16:43.66. Hassan Abdel Khalik of Ontario, who finished the race in 15:01.43.
MacKay has been swimming for seven years and trains with the Manta Swim Club in Winnipeg under coach Tom Hainey. He has previously competed in the 2007 Western Canada Summer Games, the 2008 age group nationals, the Western Canadian Championships in 2007 and 2008, and the 2009 Quebec Cup.
MacKay won the gold in the 200-metre butterfly at the 2009 Manitoba/Saskatchewan championships and at the 2008 Scotia Bank Prairie Winter Invitational.
His time in the heat was close to his personal best. In addition to swimming more than 20 hours per week, MacKay also waterskis and builds computers. He is enrolling in the computer analyst/programming course at Red River College in September.
