Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 5242 FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2016 Anne Ottenbrite Muylaert’s first Olympic memory was way back in 1976. She was ten years old watch- ing Nadia Comaneci score a perfect ten on her black and white televi- sion set in Whitby and she remem- bers exactly what she was thinking the moment they placed the medal around the young gymnast’s neck: One day, that is going to be me. Eight years later, she willed that dream into a reality, winning three medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles: gold in the 200-meter breaststroke, silver in the 100-meter breaststroke and bronze in the 4×100-meter medley relay. She is one of Canada’s most decorated Olympians, serving as the only Canadian female gold medalist in competitive swimming at the Olympic games until Penny Oleksiak stepped on the podium to pick up gold (plus other medals) at the Rio Games this year. Anne got a late start for the sport – when she was 12 years old – but quickly made up for lost time, training whenever she could get the chance at home clubs in Oshawa and Ajax. Before too long, she was making a splash with her favourite stroke – the breaststroke – embracing it with such intensity and veracity that it surprised even her coaches. In fact, it was so powerful that it almost kept her from her Olympic dream. “My kick was controversial at the time,” Anne explains, “because it was unorthodox.” It was so strong, in fact, that it forced her head down when she would break out of the water, something the swim com- munity had not seen in a swimmer of her age, gender or ability. “The argument was that your head had to stay above the water.” After care- ful examination, however, it was Anne with her medals in the back yard of her home in Port Perry. PhotoS by MARYANN FLEMING