Homegrown talent
Gabe Mastromatteo achieves Olympic dream with support of Kenora by Ryan Stelter
Gabe Mastromatteo isn’t one to boast about his accomplishments, even if he has every right to do so. When applying for internships at the University of Toronto, where he’s studying commerce, the scholarships he’s received and all the accomplishments in the pool played second fiddle to his job experience at Kenora’s Home Hardware.
“The overwhelming sense of pride that I have for the kid who has not just overcome the challenges of COVID-19, but having to train outside of Kenora, having to be creative with training, there was a sense of relief for him but also an immense sense of when you believe in something you can achieve it,” Hyslop said. Through it all, Mastromatteo kept his head and performed his best when it mattered most. Before heading into one of the biggest races of his already distinguished career—the 4x100 metre medley relay—on the final day of swimming at the Toyko Olympics, Mastromatteo was as cool as ice.
School remains top of mind for the 19-year-old.
“I’ve done all the training, I know how to swim. I’m not going to forget how to swim all of a sudden,” he laughed. “Once I dive into the pool, I just start doing what I have to do.”
Reaching the Olympics was realizing a lifelong dream for Mastromatteo, who told Hyslop at the tender age of five that he wanted to make it on the world’s biggest stage. When Mastromatteo got out of the pool in Toronto at Olympic trials doing what he needed to make it, Hyslop said it was “glorious.”
Mastromatteo already has a formula that works, and it has been working since he was a Kenora Swimming Shark taking laps at the Kenora Recreation Centre. However, while brushing shoulders with some of the world’s best men’s swimmers, he noticed one thing— their music selection.
Mastromatteo told his mom and coach, Janet Hyslop, “I just don’t want to be a jock.”
Lake of the Woods District Stewardship Association
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