NAME: Thunderbirds
UNIVERSITY: British Columbia
CATEGORY: Team
SPORT: Men's and women's swimming
YEARS ACTIVE: 1998-2007
HIGHLIGHTS:
10 consecutive national championships (M & W)
Produced 42 international competitors
Featured a total of 13 Olympians
BIOGRAPHY:
A period of men's and women's success that is unlikely to be equalled, UBC's 'Decade of Dominance' is the first inductee of its kind in the Canada West Hall of Fame.
The join induction of the men's and women's swimming teams at UBC from 1998-2007 is a testament to the school's swimming dominance.
For a 10-year stretch no school was better in the pool, as the Thunderbirds won both the men's and women's CIS national titles.
Led by the likes of Brian Johns and Kelly Stefanyshyn, UBC outpaced the rest of the country, as the program produced a total 42 international swimmers, including 13 Olympians.
Johns, who is a CW Hall of Famer individually, competed in 34 CIS career races and won an unprecedented 33 gold medals and one silver. Stefanyshyn won a total of 31 CIS medals (18 gold, 12 silver and one bronze) during the same time period.
Guided by Head coach Tom Johnson and assistant coach Randy Bennett, UBC's teams produced swimmers who would go onto win a total of 109 medals in international competition. Among those medalists was three-time Olympian Brent Hayden who won a bronze medal in 100-metre freestyle in London in 2012.
In 2015 the teams were jointly inducted into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame.
Written by Evan Daum.