Joe Bartoch does what is arguably the most difficult stroke you can do in the pool. “I do the 100-metre butterfly, that’s my specialty and I’m also part of the Canadian relay.”
He was just one of the athletes that the city of London honoured last week at the John Labatt Centre. There were a few swimmers in attendance and they joked with each other in a friendly way. Darda Sales was asked about the training they do and she mentioned waking up early, training, getting breakfast, “and then if you’re Joe Bartoch, you go back to sleep.”
Of course, the joking between the athletes was all in pure fun. They support each other and really liked to see the support of their hometown. There was a sea of red and white in the arena and the volume level was deafening as they cheering on all of the athletes.
“It was a great night. I was happy that I was a part of it. Being from the 2008 Summer Games, it extended my fifteen minutes of fame a little bit.”
The next summer games will be held in London, England and our London, Ontario swimmers are hyped about going from London to London to compete again.
So what’s next for Joe Bartoch, before London that is?
“Last year we set a world record short course so hopefully we can get back on track and set a world record this summer at the Pan Pacific Championships in Long Beach, California.”
We hope so too, Joe Bartoch. We wish you all the best in the pool and in life. Thanks for the interview!
You can download the interview for free or stream it with the player below. Enjoy!
5 responses to “Joe Bartoch – Olympic Swimmer”
Hi Chase .. the Butterfly certainly seems a challenging discipline .. and now I must keep an eye out when I watch any swim meets (oooh I'm getting the lingo!) .. to see if he's participating ..
Is he not going to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi later this year?
London to London … yup – it's us next …. have a great week .. Hilary
Hi Hilary,
I know he's going to the Pan Pacific Games but I'm not sure about the Commonwealth ones. We'll just have to wait and see.
Thanks for the comment!
Nice little article Chase!
The audio clip is not working however, would have been nice to hear it.
I did not go to Commonwealth Games as I am finishing up my second year of my Master of Arts program at Western. Wanted to get it done this year so I can focus on the Games next year without having to worry about school before the big one in 2012.
Thanks for the support! All the best!
Hi Joe,
Sorry for the audio not working. I will do my best to fix this soon.
Thanks for letting me know.
I wish you all the best in your studies and your career. It was great being able to meet and talk to you. Thanks again!
Hi Joe,
I uploaded the audio to zshare. If you click on the link above you can stream it or download it there. Thanks!