Music: {allcanada} Dickens bounces back

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

{allcanada} Dickens bounces back

"Never give up."

It took four years for Scott Dickens to prove the strength of those words. But Tuesday night in Montreal, perseverance paid off for the 100-metre breaststroke swimmer as he finished first in the men's final at the Canadian Olympic Trials. With a time of one minute, 0.43 seconds, Dickens earned himself a spot on the roster for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

"This was my last shot at making another Olympic Team," said Dickens, who last competed at the Olympics in 2004. "I really wanted to go out and have fun and live the moment."

Four years ago, Dickens was living out a different story.

When the swimmers leaped off the block at the start of the men's 100m breaststroke final at the Olympic Trials for Beijing 2008, the Burlington, Ont., swimmer was the clear favourite to win. Dickens had finished first in the preliminary heats with a time that fell well within the Olympic standard. But by the time the swimmers made the 50-metre turn in the final, it was already clear that Dickens' race was not going to plan.

"That one time out of 10, something doesn't feel right," he recalled in a 2010 interview with CTVOlympics. "That one time, it just doesn't go for you."

In the most crushing disappointment of his athletic career, Dickens finished third and failed to make the Beijing Olympic team. Friends asked if he planned to retire, if he had made other plans beyond the Olympics. He hadn't. Having finished 19th at Athens 2004, it had not occurred to him that he would not return to the Games in 2008.

Dickens had even signed up to a school-sponsored "Adopt an Athlete" program, and was scheduled to speak to students at his old school in Ancaster the week after the trials closed.

"I got an email during trials asking, 'are you still coming?'" Dickens recalled. He took a day to decide, but in the end the answer was 'yes.'

"You have to be responsible and show the kids that you have to stand up and learn from your mistakes. When you're hit the hardest, get back up and keep your head high and look at what's good in life," he said.

When Dickens walked into the gymnasium a week later, a sea of young, upturned faces greeted him. But his eyes were drawn to the words on a banner, hanging on the back wall.

Never Give Up.

"I pretty much almost burst into tears. It reminded me of what just happened, but also of how much support I had," he said.

"They said, 'we're behind you to London if that's what you decide to do.'"

Dickens took an extended break from swimming to think about it. He spent the next eight weeks travelling through Europe to clear his head.

"I didn't turn the TV on," he said. "The only (Olympic) race I watched was Ryan Cochrane winning his bronze medal."

He watched his teammate win Canada's only swimming medal of the 2008 Games -- bronze in the 1500m freestyle -- then he packed up, returned home to Vancouver, and went to the pool.

"I was ready," Dickens said, simply.

He proved it, setting his first Canadian record mere months later with a 100m time of one minute, 0.23 seconds.

Swimming toward the London 2012 Games on Tuesday morning, he nearly matched that time, finishing his Olympic trial qualifying heat in 1:00.39.

Hours later, he found himself on the starting block for a second time, staring down his lane inside Montreal's Olympic Stadium. Dickens lept off the blocks, clawing an early lead that he refused to release.

Sometimes, that one time out of 10, something just doesn't feel right. Every other race, Dickens touches the wall. First.

Just over a minute later, the newly-named 2012 Olympic candidate's voice was thick with emotion as he spoke of his accomplishment.

"(Beijing) 2008 was a hard year after missing that team, but just to show, eight years (after Athens), I'm back on the Olympic team," he said. "To all you swimmers out there, never give up. Anything is possible."

Never give up.