One of Canada’s brightest young swimming stars is staying in Canada to pursue her Olympic dream.

Danielle Hanus of Newmarket, Ont., will be joining the Swimming Canada High Performance Centre – Victoria next fall. The move will give her the opportunity to swim under coach Ryan Mallette, and alongside two-time Olympic medallist Ryan Cochrane and fellow Olympian and world championships medallist Hilary Caldwell. She will also be studying at the University of Victoria.

Hanus toured the centre and UVic campus in January, and said the visit left a lasting impression as she was weighing her options.

“The coaching staff and the athletes there were just incredibly amazing and helpful. They were so welcoming into the program even though we were only there a couple days. It just felt right for me, it clicked and it’s something I’ve always wanted to be part of. I wanted to be the best athlete I could training with the best athletes out there,” Hanus said.

The 17-year-old backstroker set personal bests in the 100-m (1:00.44) and 50-m (28.26) at this year’s FINA World Junior Championships in Singapore, winning bronze in the 50. In the 100-m final, she came within 0.02 seconds of a medal, placing fourth in Canadian 15-17 age group record time. She also helped the 4×100 medley relay to fifth place.

Among the things she’s looking forward to is the opportunity to train with Caldwell, a world-class backstroker with multiple international medals and two straight world final appearances in the 200.

“I can learn from Hilary for sure,” Hanus said. “Hopefully I will improve my backstroke to be as good as her someday. Even just training with her will be a great opportunity to learn how she trains and what I can do to improve for the future and put myself out there on the international stage, hopefully the Olympic stage.”

Hanus’s other National Development Team highlights include a silver medal in the 100 back at the 2014 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, as well as five finals at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. She also took gold in the 100-m back and 4×100-m freestyle at the 2014 Australian Age Group Championships, two of her seven medals at that event. She has competed on the U.S. Pro Swim Series tour the past two years, finishing as high as fourth in the 50 at the Charlotte event in May 2015. Previously, she won three medals – including 50-m gold – for Team Ontario at the 2013 Canada Games.

“Danielle was was identified as an athlete with the potential for high performance three years ago,” said National Development Coach Ken McKinnon. “Her key development years of training were with the Newmarket Stingrays Swim Club, initially with age group coach Ulf Ornhjelm and for the past two seasons with head coach Alan Swanston. I look forward to watching Danielle pursue her goals at the Swimming Canada High Performance Centre – Victoria, under the guidance of Ryan Mallette and his staff.”

Mallette says he expecting big things out of the young swimmer, with an eye on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in particular.

“Danielle is a talented young athlete who has already made a huge impact at the junior international level. She will contribute immediately to our high-performance daily training environment and I expect her to be a leader in our group as we push toward Tokyo in 2020,” Mallette said.

“Alan Swanston has done a tremendous job in Newmarket with her. She has great foundational skills, work ethic and attitude,” Mallette added. “The University of Victoria and HPC-Victoria will be a great fit for her both academically and athletically. Our staff is excited to help her take the next step towards success at the senior international level.”

Swimming Canada High Performance Director John Atkinson noted the move is a perfect fit, placing a top swimmer in a program right here in Canada that best meets her development goals.

“Swimming Canada and its partners, Own the Podium and Sport Canada, invest in the Swimming Canada High Performance Centre and Intensive Training Program network to provide a world-class daily training environment for Canadian athletes in Canada. The coaching and science/medicine support provided is truly world class,” Atkinson said. “The decision by Danielle to move to one of our centres in Victoria shows she is focused on Olympic performance and will receive the support required by athletes to pursue their goals in Canada.”