University of Minnesota Athletics
Smith Shines at 17th FINA World Championships
7/31/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
MINNEAPOLIS ââ'¬" Minnesota swimming and diving was represented on a national level this past week in Budapest, Hungary. Swimming for the Canadian national team, former Gopher swimmer Kierra Smith participated in the 17th FINA World Championships.
"My experience was unbelievably rewarding and so much fun. A lot of hard work paid off and it is also exciting because it wasn't a perfect meet and there is still so much to improve on. It left me excited to keep working towards 2020 [Summer Olympics]" said Smith.
Smith appeared in the finals for all three of her events, following successful semifinals swims. In the 100-meter Breaststroke she placed sixth with a time of 1:06.90, following a personal best 1:06.62 swim in the semifinals. Going up against the world's best in the 200-meter Breast, she captured a fifth place finish with a time of 2:22.23. A part of Canada's 400 Medley relay team, Smith helped guide the squad to a fourth place finish in 3:54.86, a new Canada record time.
Prior to her international career, Smith had a decorated career swimming from 2012-2016 for the Gophers. The seven-time All-American and four-time Big Ten Champion currently holds the Minnesota school record in the 200-yard breast, 200-meter breast and 100-meter breast. Highlighting her Gopher career, Smith took home gold in 2015 as a 200-yard Breast NCAA champion.
"No one at Minnesota ever gave up on me and I can never thank them enough for that. I had a disappointing freshman year and I wouldn't have bounced back the way I did," said Smith crediting her success to the constant motivation she received from the Gopher staff. "I learned how to be successful in and out of the pool with [Coach] Kelly's patience and guidance."
While she credits Gophers' head coach Kelly Kremer's patience and guidance, it is Kremer who credits Smith's dedication as an example to all Gophers for life after Minnesota.
"It's such a privilege to coach Kierra! She embodies what all of us are striving for in developing our students for life after swimming. She's appreciative, coachable, hardworking, and she is gaining more and more confidence in herself every day. I can't wait to see what life has in store for her, but first Tokyo is going to be fun in 2020!"
Following an appearance in Rio for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Smith continues her training for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
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