By Rebecca Cheverton

After a successful World Championships debut in 2019, Hau-Li Fan, of Burnaby, B.C is looking to make another big step in his swimming career by qualifying for his first Olympic Games.

Fan will be one of two Canadian males competing at the FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier 2021 this week in Setubal, Portugal looking to punch his ticket to Tokyo.

“I’m actually really excited to be able to do an open water race, it’s been a while since my last one,” said Fan. “I’ve been training really well for the last year so I think I’m going to do really well in this race.”

Eric Hedlin, of Victoria, B.C, will also be competing for one potential spot on the Canadian Olympic Team. The men’s race takes place Sunday, Jun 20

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 competition calendar came with many cancellations and postponements, including the postponement of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier that was supposed to take place in Fukuoka, Japan in May 2020.

Fan navigated all these changes by focusing on daily goals, instead of the big picture.

“I just focused on what I could do on a daily basis,” said Fan. “Every single practice I had something to focus on and school was still in place so I definitely [was] busy.”

Fan used this extra year to re-focus on his goals both in the water and outside of swimming. Fan has one year left of his undergraduate degree where he is studying Biology and English at the University of British Columbia. He then plans to study education and get his teaching certification.

Fan was one of two pre-selected athletes to attend the FINA Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier by finishing as the highest placed Canadian male in the 10-km event at 2019 FINA World Championships.

Kate Sanderson was the second pre-selected athlete by being the highest placed Canadian female in 10-km at the world championships. Sanderson also competed in the mixed 5-km relay and the 5-km individual event. Sanderson made her debut on the national open water team when she qualified to represent Canada at the 2018 FINA World Junior Open Water Championships. That same year she also competed in the pool and open water disciplines at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships.

Fan made his first national team appearance in 2018 when he qualified for the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo. He finished seventh in the 10-km open water race. The following year, Fan finished second that the 2019 Canadian Open Water Swimming Trials, qualifying him for the 2019 FINA World Championships.

Fan finished 17^th in the 10-km race at the Gwangju 2019 World Championships.

“I was definitely happy with that race, but obviously there is always room to improve,” said Fan. “I still think of what things I could have done to help that race be even better and how I can apply that to the race in Portugal that’s coming up.”

More specifically, he wants to go in and not just qualify for the Olympic team but to get on the podium.

“I need to race like I want to win the race, you know not just the top 10. I’m going there to get a medal,” said Fan.

A total of 15 spots are at stake in the 10-km race to qualify for the Olympic Games. The nine highest placed athletes (one per country) for the event will obtain their spot. One spot will go to the host country (Japan), and the 5 remaining spots will go to the highest placed athlete, not yet qualified, from each of the five Continents.

For more information on the event please click here: https://www.fina.org/competitions/8/fina-olympic-marathon-swim-qualifier-2021