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Through 50 metres of her race on Wednesday morning, Saskatoon para swimmer Shelby Newkirk was flying.
Just how fast was she ripping through the water at Parc Olympique in Montreal, Que.?
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She didn’t know in the moment, but instead she found an extra gear to push towards the wall over the back half of her race.
“I didn’t know if I was too slow or if I was too fast,” Newkirk said.
“I just had to trust that our race plan was working and just make sure that I finished strong. I touched the wall, I pushed off and I’m like, ‘I have enough gas in the tank.’”
Newkirk has re-written the Canadian record books once again, as she set a new standard at Canadian Swimming Trials in the SB5 women’s 100 metre breaststroke multi-class final.
She touched the wall in a time of 1:57.71, which broke her own national record in the event by 1.7 seconds.
“I didn’t feel super confident going in,” Newkirk said.
“I had to rely on my team to bring me back up and show me that this is something we can do. All the training is there, I just need to go out and race it.”
To go along with her new Canadian record, Newkirk also established a personal best in a 400 metre event earlier in the week in which she shaved off 17 seconds from her career-best time.
She said that gave her the motivation to improve again on her 100 metre breaststroke record.
“I watched the video with my coaches and we made a plan for the afternoon,” Newkirk said.
“I went out really fast, but I was able to hold it enough to come back with the record.”
Saskatoon’s Shelby Newkirk celebrating with her bronze medal won at the Canadian Swimming Trials in Montreal, Que. on July 8, 2026. (Swimming Canada/Facebook)
The new record has added to a sterling resume for Newkirk, who captured a bronze medal for Canada at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris in the women’s S6 100 metre backstroke.
Even though she’s 15 years into her swimming career, she’s encouraged with the times which are still falling.
“It’s definitely something that I’m very proud of,” Newkirk said.
“I’m now 30 years old and I’m still able to get best times and still able to set records. I think it really shows that when you take care of yourself and you set these goals, you never really know what you can achieve until you try for it.”
Newkirk is among 20 para swimmers who have been chosen to compete for Canada at the Para Pan Pacific Championships next month in Walnut, Calif.
It’s an opportunity Newkirk has earned several times over her career, but one which never gets old.
“It’s always an honour to represent Canada,” Newkirk said.
“It’s something that I love to do, represent Canada, represent Saskatchewan and Saskatoon.”
She’s not the only Saskatchewan swimmer to punch their ticket to the Pan Pacific Championships meet, as Saskatoon Goldfins alumni and Olympian Blake Tierney will compete earlier in the month.
“We have such a strong group of athletes,” Newkirk.
“We have such a strong group of supporters and such a strong sense of community. That’s just amazing to get to see everybody lift each other up, everybody cheer and just see that from a small province, we can have huge achievements coming out of it.”
Newkirk will be in the pool for Para Pan Pacific Championships from Aug. 28-30.
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