Swimmers from the Sunshine Coast had all the right strokes, winning 53 medals at last week's B.C. Seniors Games in the Kootenays.
The medal count included 25 gold, 14 silver and 14 bronze medals for the 11 swimmers from the Coast.
The medal breakdown saw eight for Ian Hooley, seven for Bruce McDonald, six for Jack Adams, six for Marilyn Adams, six for Linda Buckingham, five for Fred Lerner, four for Manfred Baur, four for Christine Chandler, three for Siemion Altman, three for Linda Duff and one for Jung Shin.
McDonald, who speaks for the swim team, forecasted last month while the team was busy training here on the Coast that the swimmers would return with 45 medals.
"I can hardly believe it myself," said McDonald. "Once again our team surpassed all expectations. For the first time, no member from the team returned to the Coast without a medal.
And the success in the pool tells only part of the Sunshine Coast success story.
Liz Dilasser of Sechelt won gold in four track and field events, including the 1,500m, 10 km road race, 5,000m and the medley relay team.
In women's slo-pitch, Carolyne Oughton of Roberts Creek won silver with her Team Heat.
In tennis, Ray Stelter of Roberts Creek won bronze in men's doubles and teamed up with Bonny Bennett of Roberts Creek to win bronze in mixed doubles.
In darts, John Chartrand of Sechelt won gold in men's singles while Joyce Jackson of Sechelt won bronze in women's doubles.
The Dragon Boat team finished fifth and included Tom Coleman of Sechelt, Els Mol of Halfmoon Bay and Edna Naylor of Roberts Creek.
Zone four (Lower Mainland) finished third overall with 237 medals, and had the most gold medals of any zone with 132. Fraser Valley was first with 264 medals and West Kootenay was second with 240 medals.
Castlegar, Nelson and Trail played host to the week-long Games, which included 25 sports, more than 3,100 participants and more than 1,500 local volunteers.
