HAMILTON Ont. — Ashley Ko (Burnaby, B.C.) from McMaster's swimming team is heading to Luxembourg at the end of the month to represent Canada at the Euro Meet from January 31st to February 2nd.

Ko was selected out of eight OUA varsity-open swimmers for this event. Athletes were selected for the Euro Meet based on a time standard and their overall ranking using World Aquatic points.

The McMaster swim team are already well into their season and Ko has managed to make her mark. At the first few opening meets Ko, aged 18, showed she is able to compete with some of the top swimmers in the OUA and international field, despite only being in her first year at McMaster. "Ashley has been nothing short of amazing this season," said McMaster's Swimming Head Coach, Grey Fairley. Ko started the season with a win in the 100m SC backstroke at home vs Western with a time of 1:05:79. The Marauder swim team then traveled south of the border to compete in Niagara Falls N.Y. where Ko picked up three more gold's in the 100 yard backstroke, 500 yard freestyle and the 200 yard IM.

At the Toronto meet hosted by the University of Toronto, Ko placed third in both the 200m IM with a time of 2:20.88, and the 400m freestyle clocking in at 4:25.22.
Ko topped off her season at home with two back to back meets at McMaster where she grabbed multiple podium finishes. At the first meet vs Guelph and Waterloo, Ko placed second in both the 400m SC IM and the 100m SC butterfly and grabbed third in the 200m SC freestyle. On the same day, Ko also earned first in the 800m SC freestyle with a time of 9:22.88 and third in the 200m SC IM. 

Ko is looking forward to this upcoming milestone at the Euro Meet in her young swimming career. "I want to express how incredibly excited and honored I am to have the opportunity to not only watch but also swim alongside so many remarkable Olympic athletes," said Ko. Getting to represent her country and province at this meet is also a new experience for Ko. "This is my first time representing Swim Ontario/Swim Canada at such a big competition, and I am so grateful for this incredible experience," said Ko.

Ko also acknowledges her McMaster teammates' role in helping her achieve success saying, "I felt unsure about how I would perform, but I'm so lucky to have such amazing teammates who continuously uplift and support one another. They truly bring out the best in everyone, and I plan to channel that energy into my races at the Euro Meet."