Former Merritt Otters’ swimmer Taylor Carmichael is making a name for herself in her rookie season with the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack swim team.

The 18-year-old Carmichael recently took part in a triple Iron Pentathlon competition in Penticton, finishing 10th overall and setting four personal best times.

Each swimmer was required to swim five races per day — at the 50-metre distance on Friday, the 100-metre distance on Saturday and at the gruelling 200-metre distance on Sunday. “It’s a good way to start the year,” said Taylor’s mom, Amanda. “Great training, but peek performance isn’t expected.”

This past weekend, Taylor was in Victoria at the UVic-PCS Blue-Gold Meet. She swam a personal best in the long-course (Olympic-length pool) 800-metre freestyle event with a time of 10:02.48, putting her within striking distance of the Western qualifying standard of 9:56.

Taylor trains 16 hours in the pool weekly and three hours dryland while pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree at TRU.