Joanne Malar on the comeback trail (09/26/99)

Joanne Malar on the comeback trail

by Andrij Kudla Wynnyckyj
Toronto Press Bureau

TORONTO - Going into the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, swimmer Joanne Malar was riding the hype, touted for the gold medal in her events. In 1995 she took two gold medals at the Pan American Games in Mar del Plata, Argentina, had won two events at the short course world championships in Rio de Janeiro, and had parlayed her blonde good looks into countless commercials on Canadian television and in magazines.

But then came the competition, and on the Olympiad's first morning, she finished fourth, off the podium in the 400-meter individual medley. Ms. Malar could not recover from the shock. She dropped off her relay squad and later finished fourth in the 200-meter medley.

It's possible that she'd been cheated out of a medal. The winner in those races, Michelle Smith de Bruin of Ireland, has been banned from the sport for tampering with a urine sample submitted after a subsequent international meet. According to Globe and Mail reporter James Christie, "the power-boosting drug androstenedione, which was detected in three subsequent Smith doping tests, wasn't formally placed on the banned list until 1997."

According to Mr. Christie, after her disastrous Olympics Ms. Malar traveled with her sister to Mexico and bought a small gold ring which she now wears on the second toe of her left foot to remind her of her tribulations, and how far she has come since.

She also took off for a solitary five-week walkabout in Australia, and returned to Canada determined to strike out on her own.

Prior to the Atlanta Games, Ms. Malar had been living with her parents in Hamilton (she was born in Canada's "Steel City" on October 30, 1975), and training at the Wentworth Aquatic Club, where her father, Gordon, had first taken her when she was 3 years old.

Since 1990 she has won 25 Canadian national titles in various events. She bested the best at the Pan Pacific Games, at the Pan Am Games, and even secured a spot as an alternate for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

Once back from Australia, Ms. Malar decided to move to the national training center in Calgary. She hooked up with new swimming coach, Jan Birdman, has sought out the services of strength coach Bill Mackey from the University of Calgary and adopted a new training regimen. Her endorsements are now largely for medical charities.

Earlier this year Ms. Malar once again won the short-course world championships in her events, the 400-and 200-meter individual medleys.

Ms. Malar has come full circle. With a golden ring around her toe, she hopes she can break free and upward - to Olympic gold.

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