Tatum O'Connor of the Brock Badgers women's swimming team competed in four events over three days (Thursday, March 7 to Saturday, March 9) at the 2024 U SPORTS Swimming Championships in Montreal. 

"She had a good weekend at her first national championship," said head coach Dave Ling.  "She made second swims in three of her four events, and her two 11th-place finishes show that she's competitive against the best swimmers in the country."  

For all events on the weekend, the preliminary heats took place on a short course (25 metres) while the finals were held on a long course (50 metres) at the Pointe Claire Aquatic Centre.  

On Day 1, the Kinesiology major, competed in the 50-metre backstroke, placing 13th in the preliminary heat in a time of 28 seconds and 81 milliseconds. O'Connor bested that seeding in the 'B' final, touching the wall in 30.21 to earn 11th.  

In her busiest day of the championship, O'Connor raced in two events on Friday, March 7. In the prelims of the 100m backstroke, the Dundas, Ont product broke her own previous Brock record of 1:03.03 by finishing in a time of 1:02.80. In the final, O'Connor set a lifetime best and another program record (1:05.37), finishing 11th. For the 50m fly, she earned a time of 28.30 in the preliminary heat before settling for a 21st-place finish in the 'C' final (28.51). 

O'Connor wrapped up her meet in the 100m freestyle on Day 3, ending in 39th place (59.07) after the preliminary heats. 

It was an impactful debut for O'Connor who earned a bronze medal at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Swimming Championships in February in the 50m butterfly and multiple 'B' final appearances at the U SPORTS Swimming Championships this past weekend. 

Her two 11th-place finishes are the best placings for the program at the U SPORTS level since 2020 and based on her weekend results, she has pre-qualified for the 2025 edition of the national meet taking place in Toronto.