Heading into last summer’s Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Mike Thompson made sure expectations were reasonable towards Nicholas Bennett, one of Swimming Canada’s brightest up-and-coming stars.

It would have been tempting to set the bar higher, of course.

Bennett, who hails from Parksville, B.C., was two years removed from his sensational international major competition debut at the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games, where he claimed three gold medals and one silver as a 15-year-old.

But Thompson, who welcomed Bennett to the High Performance Centre – Québec in Montreal a few weeks after Lima, in October of 2019, knew the Paralympic Games were a whole other ball game.

Not to mention that, at 17, Bennett would be the youngest member of the entire Canadian delegation in the Japanese capital.

“Going into Tokyo, we didn’t want to pressure Nick to feel like he had to deliver on medals,” says Thompson, head of the Canadian coaching staff for the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships in Madeira, Portugal, where Bennett is set to make his Worlds debut from June 12-18. “He was exceptionally nervous before the Games, and when he gets nervous he doesn’t handle nerves very well.”

Bennett was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when he was three. He competes in the S14 category for swimmers with intellectual impairments.

“The idea was to keep the pressure off so that he could enjoy the environment, figure things out about himself, about his competitors, see whether he liked it or not,” continues Thompson.

“I wanted him to experience Tokyo and come out of it saying ‘I want to do that again.’ I didn’t want to throw him into it saying ‘This is what you do now.’ I wanted him to say ‘This is my thing. I want to do this. I want to be back, and I’m going to win.’ ”

As it turned out, Bennett thrived in the Paralympic Games environment.

He reached the final in three of his four events, placing fifth in the 100-m breaststroke, sixth in the 200 freestyle and seventh in the 200 individual medley. He also broke his own Canadian S14 record in all four finals.

“It was a great first experience. The Games was the most exciting place I’ve been in my career… but probably the most stressful as well,” says Bennett, who was named Swimming Canada’s Breakout Performer of the Year (Paralympic Program) for his outstanding performances. “I think the expectations to make finals, not necessarily win medals, definitely helped.

“The Paralympics are a completely different level. It’s the best of the best. I was racing against people who are seven, eight, ten years older than me. It’s a completely different environment. To be honest, I almost psyched myself out a couple of times worrying about it. But just being close to them at the wall was definitely good enough for now. It was a big confidence booster, and definitely a great experience to have going into my first Worlds.”

Suffice it to say, Thompson was thrilled with his pupil’s performances.

“Yes, this is coming along a little bit faster than I expected,” he says with a laugh.

Despite his continued success, the months following Tokyo weren’t all smooth sailing by any means for Bennett.

Various challenges, some of them the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, caused him to miss the Can Ams in Greensboro, N.C., in December, and a World Series event in Aberdeen, Scotland, in February.

Through hard work and thanks to a great support system, including his sister Haley, the head coach of the Ravensong Aquatic Club in Qualicum Beach, B.C., who will be part of Canada’s coaching personnel in Madeira, Bennett got back on track in time for the Bell Canadian Swimming Trials held in April in Victoria.

“The first long-course race Nick had this season was in Toronto about a month before Trials,” says Thompson. “He wasn’t feeling great. He was like ‘I’m not really into this. I’m not really sure if I want to race.’ Somehow, we got him in the mood to go two tenths of a second away from his 200 free time in Tokyo. So I told him ‘We’re not doing as badly as you think we’re doing Nick. We’re doing really well.’

“We came back from that prep meet in Toronto and his attitude changed 100 per cent. Victoria is his backyard. He swims in that pool all the time. This was like a home-field advantage for him. So he shows up at Trials, he’s excited, he’s very comfortable there, and I really think this had something to do with his performances.”

In Victoria, Bennett once again shattered his national S14 marks in the 100 breast, 200 free, 100 fly and 200 IM to qualify for Madeira 2022 and the 2022 Commonwealth Games, set for July 28 to Aug. 8 in Birmingham, U.K.

“His times at Trials would have put him in medal contention in Tokyo in three of his four events,” says Thompson. “At this time last year, he would have had the world record in the 200 IM, but that record was broken by two seconds in Tokyo.

“I still think there’s more to be shaved off those times. Again, sky’s the limit for Nick. He’s only 18.”

Bennett says “killing his body over and over again” over the past few months played a big role in his return to peak form in time for his Worlds debut.

“We really hammered in a lot of distance. During the winter, we were doing 40 kilometres every other week. 10 km a day, do that over and over again.

“We also did a lot of technique work, watching my races from Tokyo, looking at what went well, reinforcing what we could do better.”

Bennett approaches Madeira 2022 with moderated confidence.

“You need confidence just to be in the sport. But confidence can become ego. Of course, everybody who’s at Worlds deserves to be there. So I want to be confident but I want to make sure it’s in moderation. It makes you stronger, you build mental fortitude.

“Of course a medal would be a great thing. But anything can happen. Someone could go two seconds under the world record. I just want to have good races. I want my competitors to do the best they can so that they push me. It’s all that matters.”