Former CIAU swimmer of the year Karin Helmstaedt and internationally acclaimed diver Anna Dacyshyn were inducted into the University of Toronto Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday, May 27 at Hart House Theatre.
A member of three CIAU women’s swimming championship teams, Helmstaedt made a splash both at the intercollegiate and international levels during her time at the University of Toronto.
Helmstaedt first hit the international stage at the FISU World University Games in 1985. A year later, she competed at the Commonwealth Games prior to becoming a finalist in the 200m individual medley (IM) at the 1986 World Aquatics Championships.
That same year, Helmstaedt led the Varsity Blues at the CIAU championships with two gold and three silver medals setting a CIAU record at the intercollegiate national championships.
Her success did not stop there. In 1987, Helmstaedt won CIAU national titles in both the 200m and 400m IM as well as three silver medals on her way to leading U of T to what would be the first of three consecutive national team titles. Internationally, Helmstaedt’s success skyrocketed after capturing bronze medals in the 200m and 400m IM at the 1987 Pan American Games.
Helmstaedt excelled at the CIAU national championships in 1988, setting a record in the 200m IM before winning her second national title in the 400m IM. She rounded out her career in 1989 capturing one CIAU relay gold medal and two individual bronze medals. Later that year, she swam for a club in France and garnered gold as the anchor of the 4x200m freestyle relay at the French national championships.
After graduation, Helmstaedt went on to become a journalist and reported on major swimming events including the 1994 and 1998 World Aquatic Championships, 1995 Pan Pacific championships and the 1996 Olympic Games.
Dacyshyn significantly increased the profile of the University of Toronto’s diving program with her many national and international successes in the early 1990s.
The 1992-93 CIAU all-Canadian earned Bronze and Silver Ts. In 1991, she earned membership in the Faculty of Physical Education and Health’s Tait McKenzie academic honour society. That same year, Dacyshyn won a silver medal at the World Junior Championship, a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and placed fourth at the World Cup. The six-time national champion also competed in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, China and throughout North America.
Dacyshyn founded the Central Toronto Diving Club in 1996 and is married to fellow diver and 2002 U of T Sports Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Hirst.
The Sports Hall of Fame honours U of T's greatest athletes and builders. It was established by the T-Holders' Association in 1987 as part of an ongoing effort to preserve and display the records relating to the outstanding historical tradition of athletic, academic and community leadership fostered by the University of Toronto.
