The end of an era: David Sharpe finishes illustrious career with the Tigers

By Duncan Forbes

David Sharpe is one of Dalhousie’s most decorated athletes of all time. A four-time AUS male swimmer of the year and former Olympian, Sharpe has been the face of Dalhousie swimming since he first made waves on campus in 2009. He is one of two Dalhousie Tigers to ever compete in the Olympics while still a student at Dal. The other was Kiera Aitken who swam for Bermuda in 2004.

The fifth-year science student’s university swimming career with the Tigers recently came to a close last week when he competed in the 2014 Speedo CIS Swimming Championship, where he earned a silver medal in the 50m backstroke and a bronze medal in the 200m butterfly to help the Tigers to a 10^th place finish.

The Halifax, NS native first dipped into the Dalplex pool when he began competitive swimming with the Halifax Trojans when he was just six years old. He grew up around the pool and around the Tigers swim teams.

By the time it came to decide on schools, he knew that he had many options. He’d been approached by schools across Canada, but knew that Dalhousie was the only true fit for him.

“I liked the coaching staff, the team, and I wanted to help make the team better,” says Sharpe. “One of my missions has always been to make Atlantic Canadian swimming better, and I wasn’t going to do that by moving across the country.”

And he did just that. Sharpe stormed onto the AUS swimming scene and was named the AUS Swimmer of the year in his rookie season, becoming the first AUS swimmer since 2002 to be named both the rookie of the year and the swimmer of the year.

Despite his success in his first two years, David stepped aside from the university team temporarily in his third year to train for his lifetime goal: to compete in the Olympic Games.

It was a defining moment in Sharpe’s life, not just in his swimming career. To realize the dream that he’d had for so very long, he had to take a very big risk. He did not train with the Tigers fulltime, instead opting to train with Halifax Trojans coach Aaron Maszko while taking a reduced course load, totally dedicating himself to achieving his goal.

And you know what, it paid off. Coming into his final heat in Olympic trials in last, Sharpe pulled off the improbable comeback and finished with a Nova Scotian record of 1:58.81, earning him a spot at the London Summer Olympic Games. He ended up finishing seventh in his heat with a time of 1:59.87, a full second slower than his qualifying time.

He amassed 13 CIS medals (three gold, five silver and five bronze) during his tenure with the Tigers, and currently is the holder of six individual and two team Dal/AUS records. You might be led to believe that Sharpe would like to be remembered for his legendary performances and records, but it’s quite the opposite.

Sharpe is humble about his multitude of accomplishments with the Tigers, and quickly diverts to the successes of his teammates when asked about his own achievements.

“I hope I’m remembered for being a good teammate, at least,” Sharpe laughs, adding that he hopes his records aren’t around for too long. “No doubt they’ll be there for a bit, but I hope they get broken as soon as possible. The faster they’re broken, the faster the team is improving.”

The Halifax native has never gone to a school more than five minutes away from Dalhousie, and is glad to be able to call it home. He says the time he’s spent here and the memories and experiences with his teammates will continue to shape him for the rest of his life, more than any piece of hardware or record-breaking time ever could.

Looking into the future, Sharpe is already training for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, with trials just a month away. With one Olympics under his belt, he already has his sights on the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Brazil, and he knows what it takes to get there.

As for a return to Dalhousie? Don’t be shocked to see him back with the team in some capacity in the near future, but as he’ll admit, that’s far from his first priority.