By Jim Morris

They got up early to drive to the morning practices and made sure food was on the table at night.

They listened and encouraged, cheered the victories and gave comfort during the disappointments.

Some came from swimming backgrounds, others are still vague about the sport.

A recipe of talent, proper technique and good coaching is needed to develop a successful swimmer. Many of the Swimming Canada athletes who will compete at this summer’s World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, say their parents were another important ingredient.

“It’s the parent’s love language to always drive us and feed us,” said Ingrid Wilm, who trains at Calgary’s Cascade Swim Club.

Margaret Mac Neil credits her mother Susan McNair for putting her on the path to being a world and Olympic champion in the 100-metre butterfly.

“It can be attributed to the fact that my mother is a doctor,” said the London, Ont., native. “Her neuroticism over my sister and I drowning in the backyard pool was the reason that I got into swimming.

“If it wasn’t for her and her job, I don’t think I would be doing this.”

Finlay Knox’s love of swimming began when his family moved to New Zealand and lived near a beach.

His mother Abby swam competitively growing up in the United Kingdom and she wanted her children to be safe in the water.

“We surfed every night,” said Knox, who trains at the High Performance Centre – Ontario. “She was a huge advocate on making sure that we knew how to swim.

“Her being a swimmer, she pushed for swimming, making sure when we were out surfing we were the most comfortable in the water.”

When the family moved to Okotoks, Alta., his mother’s twin sister Emma Hesterman was head coach of Okotoks Mavericks Swimming.

Sydney Pickrem’s parents are Canadians, but she grew up in a “complicated family” in East Lake, Fla. She started to swim in the pool at the country club where her mother Elizabeth worked as a server and bartender.

“My mom and I have always been very close,” said Pickrem, a member of Canada’s 4×100-m medley relay team that earned a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “She is genuinely the strongest individual that I’ve ever met. What she’s been through and how she’s always prevailed.

“My mom was never afraid to show me that not everything is as picture perfect as movies and TV shows can be. We always knew that no matter what, we were always going to help each other and figure things out but there might not be an easy way out. That’s something my mom instilled in me.”

Javier Acevedo’s mother Catherine is a flight attendant.

“She’s done everything for me, been there whenever I needed her,” said the two-time Olympian who trains at the High Performance Centre – Ontario.

“She would go out of her way to try and not miss weeks when we were in training so she could drive us.”

When Acevedo was returning to Canada from last year’s world championships in Budapest, his mother surprised him by being the flight director on the final leg of the journey.

“That’s pretty cool,” he said.

Kylie Masse, an Olympic and world championship medallist in the 100-m backstroke, shed tears when talking about her mother Cindy.

“She always instilled great values in me,” said the LaSalle, Ont., native. “To lead by example and do the right thing, treat people with respect.

“Those things have been really powerful and are great qualities that I’ve taken as I’ve grown up through the sport.”

Mac Neil’s father Edward Mac Neil teaches high school drama and music. Her parents met in the church choir.

“Music is kind of where they intersected and where they fell in love, as cheesy as that is to say,” she said.

Mac Neil said her father’s hours were more flexible than her mother’s.

“He was the one that always did the early mornings,” she said. “My body clock is pretty good at waking up, but if I didn’t, he would bang on my door, wake me, get me to practice, and never complained.

“He was the one that also picked me up from school to take me back to the pool.”

Knox’s father Alasdair played some soccer when he was young but never pushed Knox to play any specific sport.

“He was just stoked that we were having fun,” said Knox. “Regardless of what sport I picked he supported me every step of the way.”

Acevedo said his father Aroldo is his “biggest fan.”

“He’s always going to be there for me, especially now he understands I’m doing this for myself” he said. “To see him in the stands every time I swim, I know he’s super proud of me and I always have his respect and love.”

Mac Neil appreciates the support her parents have shown, even though they don’t totally understand the sport.

“If they were more on top of it, or knew more about the sport, I probably wouldn’t be in it as long as I have been,” she said. “They have learned a little bit but they’re still clueless in way that is kind of refreshing.”

Acevedo said despite spending years around a pool his father can’t swim.

“We have a backyard pool and he doesn’t know,” he said.

Masse said her father Louie and her mother helps keep her grounded.

“We never really brought swimming back to the house,” she said. “When we were having family time, we weren’t talking about swimming which was nice because I was able to escape it.”

Wilm’s parents are divorced. Her mother put countless kilometres on the family van driving her from Calgary to Edmonton for swim meets.

“She’s a lovely lady, an absolute sweetheart, unlike me,” said Wilm. “I don’t know what happened because I’m a sassy little brat.”