Miramichi woman wins gold at international swim meet

Kieshia Mills of Derby Junction wins three medals

A Miramichi woman, now living in Halifax, recently competed at the World Aquatics Masters Championships and won 2 gold medals and 1 silver.

Keishia Mills is from Derby Junction, the daughter of Glen and Sandra Mills. She began swimming with the Miramichi White Caps Swim Club at age 8 through high school, graduating from MVHS in 2010. She continued her swimming career with the varsity team at Dalhousie University from 2010-2016 competing at a national level and to this day holds some Atlantic University Sport (AUS) and NS provincial records.

Although Mills retired from competitive swimming in 2016 she says she still continues to swim intermittently with friends for fun while training others. 

“I’ve maintained my connection with the swimming community and have been assistant coaching at Dal since 2016, as well as head coaching masters swim teams,” Mills said.

The meet was in Fukuoka, Japan between August 6 and 11, and was open to athletes around the world. The level of competition is substantial because competitors must reach a time standard for each race they’d like to swim. The standards vary according to age. 

“I’m in the 30-34 age group, which is often the most competitive category as young swimmers have just transitioned to masters and have maintained some speed and fitness,” Mills explained.

Mills competed in the 100m breaststroke winning gold. She also won gold in the 200m breaststroke, and finished second in the 50m breaststroke in her age group. 

“I was pleased with the results, and my times were close to my expectation,” Mills said, but expressed a little disappointment with her 50m finish.

“I was sick the night before my 50, and I think if I were feeling my best I could have pushed a bit more and achieved a better result. If I ever compete at Worlds again I’d like to achieve gold in all 3 events.”

Interest rejuvenated after surgery

In 2019 Mills had hip surgery to repair an old swimming injury. During her rehab swimming was one of the only activities she was able to do and it made her appreciate being introduced to the sport.

“It reminded me what a privilege it is to be part of a lifelong sport. After my surgery I’ve been in and out of the water, but not training too seriously. Instead, I’ve spent the last few years doing running or cycling races and triathlons. In the fall when they announced the masters world championship would be held in Japan, it piqued my interest as it’s a destination I’ve always wanted to visit.” 

Mills said she would like to compete at the masters again if it is held in a desirable location. The 2024 meet will be held in Qatar which Mills said does not appeal to her.

(photo:  Facebook)

Enjoying the process with a goal in mind 

“I’m very self motivated with a competitive spirit, and always looking for a new challenge and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. When I committed to going, I started swimming two or three times a week. Training was on my own, with friends joining on occasion. I had really great motivation and inspiration from the athletes and clients I trained at the gym and pool.”

Mills’ commitment to fitness and her success in the pool should help motivate her clients at Push Fitness. Mills is the head trainer there and says the business specializes in personal training for people of all ages and backgrounds, from beginners to professional athletes.

Going into the competition Mills said she was confident she could compete for medals based on her conditioning and the times she putting up in training.

“My original goal was to see how well I could fare on the world stage at my current fitness level and with minimal training. I had to participate in a local competition to qualify for the event, and my times were still fast for a swimmer my age, so I knew this would rank me quite high. It really depended on who else showed up to the competition, but at that point I felt that I could reach the podium.”

Gives credit to others for support

Mills credits the people around her for the support she needed to prepare for the event and compete at a high level.

“My friends, family, past coaches were an invaluable support system during the process, and that felt like was all the preparation I needed. I’ve already lived the life of an elite athlete and put in my time, and I didn’t want to put any pressure on myself for this event. My biggest priority in training was to enjoy the process and continue to have fun swimming.”