Aly Van Wyck-Smart’s success in 2019 didn’t exactly come out of nowhere. After all, at about the same time a year ago, she was named Female Provincial Para Athlete of the Year at the Ontario Sport Awards.

What few people could have predicted, however, is that in a span of less than 12 months, the 17-year-old from Toronto would go from provincial standout and national team hopeful to world record holder, multiple world championship medallist and a strong candidate to represent Canada at next summer’s Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

For her remarkable accomplishments this season, Van Wyck-Smart became the inaugural winner of a newly-created Swimming Canada award, Breakout Para-swimmer of the Year.

“I’m beyond grateful. Being the first recipient is a huge honour,” said Van Wyck-Smart, who trains with coach Ryan Jones at Toronto’s Variety Village. “This is especially exciting for me because I’m a lower classification athlete. My hope is that me winning this award will bring more recognition and awareness to the 1-5 classification athletes and grow 1-5 performance programs.”

For Wayne Lomas, Swimming Canada’s Associate Director of High Performance and Para Swimming National Coach, Van Wyck-Smart is more than deserving of the new annual distinction.

“With her infectious smile and ruthless pursuit of excellence, Aly was absolutely a fitting recipient. Her multiple medal-winning performances at her breakout international competition, 12 months before the Paralympics, were both inspiring and exciting. In addition to her outstanding in-pool performances, she also demonstrated the resilience, character and temperament of a seasoned veteran out of the pool.”

Van Wyck-Smart, who has cerebral palsy, competes in the S2 category. She began swimming at the age of 10 as part of her physical therapy and entered her first competition at 14, only three years ago.

“I am one of the youngest athletes on the national team, so this award is a huge confidence boost. It shows how much work I’ve put into being an international athlete. Being a new member of the national team is very exciting yet slightly daunting. I have to attribute my performance that led to this award to all the coaches and teammates who have been through many more international experiences than I have. I’ve learned so much from them.”

She must be one heck of a student.

The budding superstar announced herself on the national scene at last April’s Canadian Trials held in her hometown, shattering the SM2 world record by more than six seconds in the 150-m individual medley, a performance that was recognized as the best swim of the Trials by a female Para swimmer (based on point charts). She finished the meet with three gold medals and one silver.

Then came the Canadian Championships in Winnipeg, in August, where she broke a trio of S2 Americas and Canadian marks.

Her true crowning moment, however, would come a month later on the biggest stage of her young career. In her World Para Swimming Championships debut in London, U.K., Van Wyck-Smart claimed a silver medal in the 100-m backstroke S2 and bronze in the 50-m backstroke S2, both in Canadian and Americas record time. Thanks to her performance in the 100 back, she was nominated to the Canadian Paralympic Committee to represent the country at Tokyo 2020.

When asked if she could have envisioned this kind of success heading into 2019, Van Wyck-Smart gave a somewhat surprising – but very affirmative – answer.

“One hundred percent yes. At the beginning of the season, leading into world championships, I knew my goals and worked hard to achieve them with my coach, Ryan, who pushed me to go even farther. I was confident in my abilities because I have such a strong support system from coaches, teammates, physiotherapists, nutritionists, etc., to my family and anyone who has ever believed in me.”

Another wise-beyond-her-years answer awaited when she was asked to explain all of her success.

“Hard work, but also my love of feedback, criticism and mistakes. During training sessions, I love when my coach mentions that my hand isn’t in the right place or to keep my head down, anything. I love when I bomb a race because I can point to what went wrong so I can change it in next race. Even if I have an amazing race and break a record, I want to know the tiniest mistake so I know where to improve and get faster.”

Her favourite moment from her breakout season?

“There are so many moments from the past year that are beyond words. The one moment I will always remember though is being announced for my first race. Hearing my name and my teammates and family cheering as I walked out was a feeling I could never forget. Walking out and even winning medals I remember thinking ‘I am doing this’ rather than ‘Did I just do this?’ Not because I expected medals, but rather because it was my goal.”

Wise beyond her years indeed.