VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds swimming program will only get stronger heading into next season, welcoming one of Canada's most promising young talents as Kayla Sanchez will join the blue and gold beginning in January 2022.
 
Sanchez, who just turned 20 years old already boasts an impressive resume as a Canadian record holder and World Championship medalist and will look to bolster a T-Birds program that has seen both the women's and men's team each claim four consecutive U SPORTS national titles.
 
The Scarborough, Ontario native's immediate focus will be on qualifying at next month's Olympic trials and an opportunity to represent Canada at the upcoming Summer Games in Tokyo. She'll then return home to compete for the Toronto Titans in her third International Swimming League season. At the conclusion of the ISL season in the fall, Sanchez will travel west to get acquainted with the Point Grey campus ahead of beginning her classes in January, with a goal of studying political science.


 
"The main factors that influenced my decision in choosing UBC to pursue my academic and swimming careers were the quality of life and education," says Sanchez. "I have lived in Ontario for the majority of my life and as much as I have learned and loved growing up here, I'm definitely lucky to have the option of BC for school. I have heard only the best things about student life surrounded by mountains and the ocean, and to top it off UBC is one of the best schools in the world academically. I'm excited for the change and I really look forward to representing the Thunderbirds!"
 
2019-20 Canada West coach of the year Derrick Schoof is very much looking forward to the overall impact he expects Sanchez to have on the program.
 
"I am thrilled that Kayla will be a Thunderbird next season," said the three-time U SPORTS coach of the year. "Kayla is truly a world class swimmer and has already established herself as one of the best swimmers in Canada. Kayla has an excellent shot at gaining even more valuable experience this summer at the Tokyo Olympics and she will add a tremendous amount of firepower to our already strong women's team. Not only is Kayla an amazing swimmer, she is an amazing person, who I am confident will represent the Thunderbirds with the utmost integrity and enthusiasm." 
 
When Sanchez isn't at home training at Swimming Canada's High-Performance Centre in Ontario she's been making a significant splash for Canada in international waters over the past four years.
 
At the World Junior Championships in 2017, Sanchez helped Canada sweep the women's relays, as the group won gold in the 4x100-m freestyle, 4x200-m freestyle and 4x100-m medley relays. She also won silver in the 200-m individual medley and bronze in the 100-m freestyle.


 
At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Sanchez was a member of the 4x100-m and 4x200-m freestyle relay teams that brought home silver while also winning bronze in in both those events at the Pan Pacific Championships. Most recently, she earned another two bronze relay medals at the FINA 2019 World Swimming Championships and broke Canadian records in the same two events.
 
Sanchez currently lays claim to three short course Canadian records in the 50-m freestyle (23.71), the 100-m freestyle (51.45), and the 100-im (57.80). Sanchez also holds the official world junior record in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.98 clocked in 2018.
 
Sanchez has already packed a lot of experiences and accomplishments into her young career and after what promises to be a busy summer she looks forward to her next chapter and more podiums on the west coast with the T-Birds.