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PAGE 18 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 20, 1985 Raymond Brown‘s ROW‘s rising star Seven golds, silver at youth championship Richard O‘Brien Remember that day you took your first step and started walking? No, you say? Well, neither does Raymond Brown. Oh, but there is one other thing Rayâ€" mond Brown can‘t remember. He can‘t remember his first day in a swimming pool in Cambridge at the age of six, or thereabout. It isn‘t unusual for parents to start their children in sports at an early age, but Brown has come a long way from being a noises in the water. _ Now a 6‘1", 170â€" d 15â€" â€"old8, _ _ Bm i mm ud iencroice Rectaies Other s\ just five mouths after leaving Cambridge A_njdsbkhth&m-(zned. also S‘ Cliff Barry. The sandyâ€"haired himself in ymond Brown turned u“‘hnumfim ml:udn :dcr-.::ea uu‘;.“::‘:l ships and Junior National Swim Meet in _ forts of other Region of Waterioo Swim Brantford, finishing first in seven events Club members could easily be overâ€" a%:ae.l:-ec&u.h looked. -l.rildv b-iiz/duwunnnwauvh:ama; all the newspaper clippings his mother has a first and second place finish. "I was surprised at a few times in a few :u-::-::uummmz “"’"m‘ul‘lfi'hnhun %12.7 and was second in the 100 back is o hon‘t «ie thire T ie youg n * _ SWH ecand in the 109 back in Irowe fald e MApFEVDE S of ht HNCS . Aefmarnonnentnnnenmenniintramnminty at the meet in Brantford. Since becoming a ROW member, he has improved all his ‘‘There wasn‘t anybody left in Camâ€" bridge to really push me," Brown said of his departure from Aquajets after nine years. "Now 1 compete with (Olympic medalâ€" ists) Victor (Davis) and Mike (West) in workouts. Victor helped me with my breaststroke and Mike helped me with my In Brantford, Brown won in the 200, 400, 800 and 1,500 metre freestyle events as well as the 200 and 400 individual medley and 200 breaststroke. He came second in the 200 butterfly. Other swimmers also set pace Brown will work at all events for the rext yearâ€"andâ€"aâ€"half, then expects to specialize in the middle distance individuâ€" al medleys and free style events. At the National Short Course championâ€" ship in Calgary a week before the Brantford meet, Brown made two of his best times ever in the 200 and 400 individual medley â€" 2:06.78 and 4:30.51. Then in Brantford, he got his 200 IM time down to 2:06.2, about two seconds behind where Alex Baumann was at the same in both 100 and 200 of §7.61 and 2: 05.00. _Coach Barry has ways of comparing Brown to Baumann. "I think he‘s a multiâ€"talented swimmer along the lines of Alex Baumann," said McElâ€"roy was fifth in the finals of the 200 individual medley in 2: 19.45 and sixth in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2: 03.37. â€"Victor Davis, as can be expected, won the 100 and 200 breaststroke events in Calgary with times of 1: 02.25 and 2: 14.52. _ In Sudbury, ROW‘s Mike West swam for the University of Waterloo in the Ontario Universities Athletic Association swimâ€" ming and diving chmm.o and won in both 100 and 200 bac with times Barry. "He can swim distance, sprints and he‘s strong in every stroke. 2 ‘"*He‘s rrobably one of the top 15â€"yearâ€"old male swimmers in the world and the good thing is there‘s so much to be developed because he came from a smaller proâ€" Goals have been set for Brown. He‘s to qualify for the Commonwealth Games in Scotland and/or the World Championship in Spain in 1986, but he‘s already become more competitive, â€"training out of the Wilfrid Laurier University pool with ROW. at all yet." He‘s also concentrating on swimming as his only sgon. He had played on house league hockey and soccer teams for about four years but those days are gone. *"I enjoyed the team effort,"‘ said Brown, "but 1 like being an individual athlete. If you do something wrong you know who‘s to blame and if you do something right you can thank yourself." If Barry can compare Brown to a great swimmer like Baumann, he can also compare him to Larry Robinson, Montreal Canadiens‘ great defenceman who was just a big kid with raw talent before he blossomed. ‘"*Raymond doesn‘t know how talented he is," said Barry. "I think he has the talent t:dpallthwny. It rests on the program his mental ability because he has all the physical tools. ~ "I don‘t think he‘s reached his potential (Continued on page 23)