Saskatoon para swimmer aims to set another world record in competition

A para swimmer from Saskatoon is diving into another major competition, and her sights are set on a world record.

Shelby Newkirk, 27, holds numerous para swimming records in categories like backstroke and freestyle. She said she’s hoping to get her hands on another title at the Manchester Para Swimming World Championships later this month.

Newkirk said trials for the competition started in the spring. This is the fourth year she’ll join a team at a global competition.

“I knew that in order to earn a spot, I basically had to get the best time in everything,” she said, adding she secured her spot by setting the best time in two of her races.

For Newkirk, training is a full-time job, and one she’s held since 2011. Leading up to worlds, she said she trains up to 13 times a week, both on land and in the water.

“If you didn’t love it, it would be hard to keep up (to) the intensity that’s needed,” she said.

In addition to swimming, Newkirk runs two businesses: Crafty Prairie Girl and Accessible Life. She also coaches with the Saskatoon Lasers Swim Club.

“We actually have the most para swimmers at a single club anywhere in Canada,” she said.

In 2022, at the Madeira World Para Swimming Championships, the Saskatoon swimmer took home a world championship when she won gold in the 100-metre backstroke.

What Newkirk is most excited for in this upcoming competition is defending that title.

The athlete said the backstroke is her best event. At the 2018 World Para Swimming World Series in Berlin she also set a backstroke world record.

“I just quickly became known as the backstroker,” she said.

The swimmer’s 50-metre freestyle is one of the events she is improving on. Newkirk ranked fourth in that event at the world championships last year, and said she is currently ranked second in the world.

Earlier this month, Newkirk went to Winnipeg – where she started her swimming career – to compete in a combined provincial competition between Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

“It was really cool to get to go back and hang out with my old club, and swim at the pool I first started seeing success in,” she said.

At that meet, Newkirk took home three gold medals and one bronze, and two titles from the meet as the top Saskatchewan para swimmer and top para swimmer overall.

Right now, she said she is focusing on breaking the 100-metre backstroke record again, noting the title has bounced back and forth between her and an American swimmer.

“She’s been holding it for long enough now so I want to see if I can get that back,” she said.

Newkirk said she has her eyes on the Paris Paralympics in 2024, a goal she has been pushing towards ever since she competed in the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.