VANCOUVER – Heat 2, lane 6. It's the last race of the opening morning in the Aquatic Center at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The sold out crowd is roaring with excitement, a sound that would send shivers down many backs. Heather MacLean (Toronto) has been preparing for this moment her whole life, and it's finally here. You can see the intensity in her eyes. She's about to anchor Canada's women's 4x100-metre Freestyle Relay team.
 
She's been in this position before, back at the 2009 World Championships in Rome. It was a solid effort and a Canadian record time of 3:38.22. Unfortunately, it was a just over half a second behind the eighth-place Hungarians, who would take the last qualifying spot for the finals. Back then, Heather was the Canadian record-holder in the 200m Freestyle at just 17 years old, one of the brightest young stars on the national team.
 
But the goal for every young swimmer growing up is always the Olympics. This is the big show, the real deal. After millions of meters swum throughout countless hours in the pool, it's a splash and dash, and 55.62 seconds later, it's over. With adrenaline pumping through her veins, arms thrashing, and legs looking like a motor behind her, Heather swam the first 50m in a speedy 26.69 seconds. As expected, the Germans were coming on strong in the last half. Heather didn't have enough left to hold them off. The Canadian women placed 11th, falling a disappointing 1.39 seconds short of making the final. With a personal best relay split of 54.02 seconds, this was not the swim Heather had been hoping for. She had battled through aggravating back injuries and gave it everything she had, but on this day, it wasn't good enough. That's the tough reality of the Olympics. Just getting there is an accomplishment in itself.
 
Heather's Olympic debut had come to an end, but the Games had only just begun. Thrilled about the opportunity to represent Canada and determined to enjoy every part of being an Olympian, now it was time to put her own swim behind her. Throughout the next week at the pool, Heather was one of the loudest and proudest Canadian swimmers cheering in the stands. And for good reason. In what she calls an indescribable dream come true, Heather got to share the Olympic experience with her younger sister Brittany.
 
Also competing at her first Olympics, Brittany broke her own Canadian record in the 400m Freestyle by more than a second, clocking a time of 4:05.06 to finish seventh. The younger MacLean sister then went on to lead the Canadian women's 4x200m Freestyle Relay team to a thrilling and somewhat unexpected fourth-place finish, narrowly missing a medal that would have been Canada's third in the pool in London. Heather can hardly hide her beaming smile when she says that her favourite memory of the Olympics was "definitely watching my sister set her record. It was her first big mark on the world scene and it was incredible to see all of her hard work pay off. I am so proud of her!"
 
After enjoying some post-Olympic downtime, Heather helped Brittany get settled in for her first year of NCAA swimming with the University of Georgia Bulldogs. The sisters were reunited at home in Toronto in mid-September along with many other Canadian Olympians. The Canadian Olympic Committee organized a Friday afternoon parade through downtown, followed by a Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame Gala, where over 3 million dollars was raised to support the next generation of Canadian athletes.
 
"We had so much fun, we literally could not stop smiling the whole time," MacLean said of the parade. "The streets were lined a few deep and at the end Maple Leaf square was just filled with school kids. It was by far one of the best experiences. Seeing all these people cheering and waving and the pride they had for you was overwhelming. The kids had the biggest smiles, wanted high fives, and wanted us to sign everything. It was amazing to feel like we made a difference in their lives, whether they were young or old. It was something I will never forget."
 
Still riding the wave of Olympic excitement, Heather has now returned to Vancouver, where she is a top student athlete at the University of British Columbia. An Academic All-Canadian and a coach's dream, there is surely lots more to look forward to in her career, both in and out of the water. Talented and hard-working, she is blessed with a powerful 6 foot frame that is capable of fast times in any stroke and at any distance. But what really stands out when talking to her is her endless enthusiasm and love for her sport, and her ability to plan ahead and dedicate to the bigger picture.
 
"I love so much about swimming," said Maclean. "The people, the hard work, the competition, the determination, the fun, the natural feeling you get with the water that nobody else can understand. It's a kind of a love that can't be described, only felt," she explained. Heather is also quick to acknowledge that academics are very important to her as well. "I like to do well at school and I think it helps me do well with my swimming, although sometimes it is super hard to balance both. After I finish my undergrad, the plan is to go into nursing or midwifery and work in the nursery at the hospital with the newborns."
 
Heather is happy to be back in classes and to be back with her UBC Thunderbirds teammates, who are looking to defend their title as CIS champs. "Being a T-Bird means a lot to me. I hope to contribute as much as I can to the Thunderbirds continuing our tradition of excellence", says MacLean.
 
What a tradition indeed. UBC had 12 athletes competing in London, seven of them current or former varsity swimmers. The men's and women's swim teams have won a combined 30 CIS national titles, a whooping 24 of them since 1998. But even with all of UBC's past individual honours and team successes, last year's team stands above the others, both in the record books and in the hearts of some of their most accomplished athletes.
 
"Being a part of and representing a team is so much fun. There is something about going into a meet when the focus is on the team as opposed to individual. It brings out something different. Last year winning CIS was one of the best moments for me all year, and I've had some pretty amazing moments. The look on everyone's face, knowing we had made history (most points earned at a CIS ever), and knowing that we had all stepped up where we needed to, doing that together is amazing," said MacLean.
 
This season, Heather looks to be one of the swim team's leaders alongside fellow Olympians Tera Van Beilen and Savannah King, CIS Rookie of the Year and Swimmer of the Year, respectively. The women's team recently went to Strathcona Park on Vancouver Island to work on aspects outside of the pool. "It is absolutely beautiful up there and we had a great weekend coming together as a team," said MacLean. "The girl's team is by far the closest I've seen in the three years I've been here. I think also with winning CIS last year we know what it takes now and as a team we are so ready to do that."
 
King was chosen by her teammates to be team captain this year, while fourth-year Brittney Harley will be the assistant.

"Sav doesn't need much explanation," Heather said, laughing. "A two-time Olympian who gets along with everyone she meets and is a natural leader. And Britt has such a spunky personality, she brings a lot of spirit into the team," she added.

Varsity competition gets started soon for the Thunderbirds with a dual meet in Calgary against their top rivals, the Dinos, but the championship meets don't come until early 2013. The Canada West Championships will take place January 23-25 in Victoria, followed by the CIS Championships a month later in Calgary. While there is no official competition scheduled to be hosted at UBC this season, Thunderbird fans are welcome to come out and watch their regular intersquad meets, called 'Friday Night at the Races', or their Alumni meet coming up in November.
 
As for Heather MacLean, she has set multiple CIS Championship records and won 10 CIS medals in her first two years at UBC and looks to add more to that this season for the Thunderbirds. But you can bet that the fire in her eyes is already focused on including an Olympic medal to her collection. The new four-year cycle has already begun, and the countdown to Rio de Janeiro is on.