VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds are set to host nearly 600 hundred swimmers from 65 different teams across North America including a number of world class athletes at the 58^th Annual Mel Zajac Jr. International Swim Meet from June 2-4. Swimming supporters in Metro Vancouver will have the opportunity to see some of the brightest emerging stars from across Canada and the United States as they compete at the state-of-the art UBC Aquatic Centre.
 
Headlining the 2023 event are two of Canada's biggest young swimming stars as 2020 Olympic gold medalist Maggie MacNeil and world champion Josh Liendo will be competing at the Point Grey campus. MacNeil comes in as the top seed in the women's 50 free, 50 back, and 50 fly, while the 23-year-old currently ranks second in the world this season in the 100 fly (56.54). The 20-year-old Liendo should make plenty of waves, scheduled to take part in the men's 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 50 fly and 100 fly as both swimmers will be using the Zajac as a tune up for July's World Championship in Fukuoka, Japan.


 
Additional feature athletes taking part include the UBC Thunderbirds very own rising stars Emma O'Croinin, Anna Dumont-Belanger, Hugh McNeill, Blake Tierney, Keir Ogilvie, Justice Migneault and Raben Dommann. All seven whom were instrumental along with their teammates in helping the T-Birds men's team capture a sixth consecutive U SPORTS national championship banner while the women's team claimed silver just three months ago in Victoria, BC. O'Croinin, the reigning U SPORTS Outstanding Female Swimmer of the year along with McNeil will also be preparing to represent Canada at the upcoming World's while Ogilvie, Tierney, Dommann along with O'Croinin and McNeill will swim for Canada at the Pan Am Games later this year in Santiago, Chile in late October.


 
"UBC Thunderbirds and our partners are proud to be hosting the 58^th Annual Mel Zajac Jr. International Swim Meet at the UBC Aquatic Centre," said UBC head coach Derrick Schoof. We are excited to be hosting Olympic Champion Maggie MacNeil and World Championship Medalist Joshua Liendo and addition to many Canadian National Team Members who will be representing Canada at the World Championships, Pan American Games, and Junior World Championships this summer.  We feel as though this year's meet will be great for both the top performers as well as our next generation of up-and-coming talent.  It is great for the UBC Thunderbird Swim Team and great for the overall swimming community in BC. We are so grateful to all our sponsors for making this happen, in particular, our title sponsor the Mel Zajac Foundation."


 
Every year some lesser known up and coming talent always seem to make a name for themselves by the conclusion of the third and final night of competition at the much-anticipated Mel Zajac Jr. meet
 
"This year we are welcoming provincial teams from all across Canada, who have selected their best swimmers to represent their provinces," added Schoof.  So, it will be interesting to see who makes some break through performances this weekend. "
 
The Mel Jr. and Marty Zajac Foundation has generously sponsored the meet since 1998, allowing the event to attract top international talent year after year. The meet is named after Mel Zajac Jr., who was a swimmer on the Canadian National Team and competed for Canada at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. The event provides the unique and enduring opportunity to honour Mel Zajac Jr.'s competitive spirit and love of swimming, reflected in his achievements as part of the Canadian National swim team.
 

For over 20 years, the Mel Jr. and Marty Zajac Foundation has raised funds in support of the Zajac Ranch for Children. In the summer months, the Zajac Ranch for Children provides camps for children and young adults with chronic illnesses and disabilities. These experiences give participants the opportunity to explore the outdoors while developing greater social and environmental awareness, increased self-confidence and positive growth in attitudes towards physical activity.
 
The first preliminary races at the 58^th Annual Mel Zajac Jr. International Swim Meet go Friday, June 2nd beginning at 9:00 a.m. while the finals start each night at 5:30 p.m. at the UBC Aquatic Centre. For Further meet and ticket details please visit www.swimzajac.com
 
To learn more about the Mel Jr. and Marty Zajac Foundation, click here: http://zajac.com/
 
To learn more about the Zajac Ranch for Children, click here: https://zajacranch.com/