Geoffrey Thompson has certainly come into his own this season.

The Whitehorse Glacier Bears swimmer posted numerous personal best times in the three swim meets before Christmas, and at his first meet of the New Year in Vancouver last weekend, Thompson continued to show improvement, bringing home six medals one gold, four silvers and a bronze from the male 14-and-over category. He also made a Canada Games qualifying time in the 1,500-metre freestyle event.

'It was pretty tough swimming every morning and then having to go back in the afternoon for finals,' admitted Thompson, who made the finals in every event he swam in at the AA level meet. 'I made all best times, a AAA time and a Canada Games time.

'I've been trying to do my Canada Games time for quite a while. First, I was trying to get my AAA time in the 1,500, then I was trying to get my Canada Games time in the 400 or the 800, because I like distance more. I kind shocked everyone though, doing it in the 1,500.'

Marek Poplawski, the head coach of the Glacier Bears, said the most shocking part about Thompson's Games qualifying time was how much he shaved off his previous time for the final 33 seconds.

'Last time he swam the 1,500 was at the Ryan Downing (Memorial) meet,' said Poplawski. 'At that time, he had already improved 45 seconds from his first time this season. So that 30-second improvement is just since December.'

Poplawski said basically, Thompson has been learning how to race better this season, and he's definitely improving technically as well.

'I'm really focusing on technique with them, because to have a good technique is very important to ensure the club good records,' said the coach, adding he believes this is 'just the beginning' for 16-year-old Thompson.

'I think he's very dedicated. He's never missed a practice and it's showing. Not every swimmer is like that, unfortunately, but he's one who is at every practice.'

Thompson said he's been working harder in practice this season because now he knows all of the work pays off, especially since his results in Vancouver. And, believe it or not, he enjoys getting up at 5 a.m. for practice.

'I enjoy getting up and coming to talk with friends, swimming hard and then going to school, knowing that I did well in the morning and then trying to come back as well in the afternoon. I just enjoy swimming.

'All I can do is swim, since I'm not very talented (at other sports).'

One of the friends that Thompson enjoys hanging out with at practice is 15-year-old Francis Aubin. Aubin also had a successful meet in Vancouver, posting a Canada Games qualifying time in the male 14-and-over 50-m free and picking up a bronze medal in that same event.

'I don't want to say it was easy, but it wasn't the most challenging competition ever,' said Aubin about the meet. 'It was a AA standard meet, so we made finals in everything. It was an easy meet compared to AAA, Westerns, stuff like that.'

Even so, Aubin was thrilled to grab a Canada Games qualifying time, which he too has been shooting for all season.

'I was hoping to make it in Victoria before Christmas (at the Christmas Cracker meet) and I missed it by 2/100ths of a second, so I was quite disappointed. I was convinced that I had to do it this time.'

And, he added, he almost didn't get the chance this time either, thanks to a performance which left something to be desired in the preliminaries of the 50-m free.

'In prelims, I had a really crappy swim. I was lucky to even make finals. My technique just fell apart during the race, but I picked it up in the final.'

Aubin will have to wait a few more days before he knows whether he can travel to the AAA meet with nine other Glacier Bears, including Thompson, in February. The full official results from last weekends meet aren't yet posted. If he doesn't make it, his next race won't be until April.

Thompson is hoping to get another Canada Games time at the AAA meet, especially in the 800-m Free. Long-term, he's focusing on making the Western championships and nationals next season. And eventually, he hopes to compete at the university level.

'My parents kind of want me to go overseas for swimming,' he smiled.

With Canadian Olympic role models such as Mike Mintenko and Scott Dickens, who visited Whitehorse for a camp in December, Thompson's future looks bright.

'(Dickens) spent a lot of time at our house when he was here,' said Thompson. 'He acted like a big brother to me. So, it should be pretty cool when I go down to visit him, because we'll have some good stories to share.'

Poplawski said he hopes the Glacier Bears will see some very strong male swimmers hit the national scene over the next few years, as there have already been several female national medalists.

'Brendan (Zrum) or Geoffrey, they're still young, so they will still be with the club in town before they go to university another two years at least. The next step will be to qualify for Westerns or nationals.

'Also, we have a younger swimmer, Tanner Cassidy (13), who is making tremendous progress. And Craig Berube, he's just eight years old.'

Spencer Edelman is another male Glacier Bear finding success. Edelman, his sister Ariana and Kimberly Holmes also attended the Vancouver swim meet, and all of them brought home at least two medals.

Spencer Edelman grabbed a gold medal and a silver in the male 14-and-over category while Kimberly Holmes collected two golds in the female 14-and-over division. Ariana Edelman also competed in the female 14-and-over category, where she claimed two bronze medals. There were about 180 swimmers in total at the meet.

'I think they did very well,' said Poplawski, adding Ariana and Holmes were very close to making AAA times while Spencer is a definitely a potential Canada Games team member.

As for the quality of competition in Vancouver, the coach said it was just right for a AA meet not too hard and not too easy.

'There was some real competition obviously, because we didn't win everything,' he laughed.

The full results of the Vancouver swim meet are as follows:

Male 14 & Over

Geoffrey Thompson

Gold 200-m IM, 2:33.51

Silver 1,500-m Free, 18:46.99

Silver 400-m Free, 4:43.50

Silver 50-m Free, 26.98

Silver 100-m Free, 59.67

Bronze 200-m Free, 2:13.04

Spencer Edelman

Gold 100-m Fly, 1:10.42

Silver 100-m Back, 1:12.03

Fifth 50-m Free, 28.08

Sixth 100-m Free, 1:02.66

Francis Aubin

Bronze 50-m Free, 27.12

Fifth 400-m Free, 5:08.39

Fifth ñ� 100-m Breast, 1:25.56

Sixth 200-m Free, 2:29.71

Female 14 & Over

Kimberly Holmes

Gold 200-m Breast, 3:05.92

Gold 100-m Beast, 1:28.80

Sixth 100-m Free, 1:11.51

Ariana Edelman

Bronze 200-m Breast, 3:13.34

Bronze 200-m Back, 2:44.58

Fourth 100-m Fly, 1:22.16

Fifth 100-m Back, 1:17.11