Becoming an Olympic Champion doesn’t happen overnight.
For Anne Ottenbrite the climb to the gold began three years ago at the Canadian National Summer Championships when she took fifth place in both the 100 and 200 metre breaststroke. That was in July, 1981.
Her first two first place finishes in National Competition came in August, 1981 when she won both the 100 and 200 metre breaststrokes.
At the Canada Cup meet held in December her winning ways, taking the same two events in impressive style.
She got her first taste of international competition in January, 1982, when she competed in the U.S. International short course meet when she set a Canadian senior record in the 200-metre breaststroke, with a time of 2:31.68 despite the fact that she only earned fourth place. She placed ninth in the 100-metre event and was part of the 4 by 100-metre medley relay which also set a Canadian senior record with a time of 3:45.05.
In March, 1982, the then 16-year-old Ottenbrite took the 100-metre breaststroke in the Canadian Winter Nationals Four months later she set a Commonwealth record in the 200-metre breaststroke of the World Trials with a time of 2:33.23 when she won first place. She also set another Canadian senior record in the 100-metre breaststroke at the same event with a first place finish in 1:11.57.
In August of that year, Ottenbrite set two new Commonwealth records in both the 100 and 200-metre breaststrokes at the trials for the Commonwealth Games, which were held in October, 1982, in Sydney, Australia.
Once again, the Lyndeview Dr. resident set new Commonwealth records in the 200-metre breaststroke, with a time of 2:32.07. in that first place finish she also set a Commonwealth Games record. She set a games record in the 100-metre breaststroke heat while coming second in the final. As part of the 4 by 100 metre medley relay she also won first place, again setting a games record.
In the Hapoel Games, in March, 1983, Ottenbrite won first place in both the 100 and 200 metre breaststroke.
Two months later at the Canada-Britain-USSR meet she took another first place in the 200-metre breaststroke. Two months after that, in July 1983, she set two more Canadian senior records with a first place in the 100 and 200 metre breaststroke events.
She was disqualified from the 200-metre breaststroke at the August, 1982 Pan American Games but made up for it with a first-place finish in the 100-metre and a second place showing as a member of the 4X100-metre medley relay team.
Then in January of this year, Ottenbrite came third in the 100-metre breaststroke at the U.S. International and second in the 200-metre.
At the Canadian Winter Nationals, also held in January, she came in first at the 100-metre, setting a new Canadian Senior record with a time of 1:09.54. Another new Canadian senior record was set in the 200-metre event at the same meet.
Finally, in March, Ottenbrite earned two second place finishes at the East Berlin meet.
After that was the Olympics in Los Angeles and everyone in Whitby knows what happened there. But to get there it took guts, determination and hard work. But it paid off with not one, but three medals – a gold, a sliver and bronze – showing the whole world that the quiet girl from Whitby is one of the best there is in the pool.
