Kassua and Tuja Dreyer (Indigenous names Gínnet’ā and Tayāné’, respectively), coming off an amazing medal haul at the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG), have now tasted success at the Canadian nationals in Toronto.

The Speedo Canadian Swimming Championships took place Aug. 1-6.

Tuja Dreyer, 15, won a silver in the 400m Medley and a bronze in the 50m Butterfly. He also finished sixth in the 100m Butterfly.

“Having a meet back to back … I can’t ask for anything better,” said Tuja.

Tuja said the results were very unexpected for him.

“Especially that 50 fly. I think I dropped two seconds. So that was pretty crazy.”

Tuja is the sixth Yukoner to win a National Championship medal in swimming and the first male swimmer to do so.

The last Yukoner to win a medal was Kwanlin Dün First Nation swimmer Rennes Lindsay, who won bronze medals in the 400 and 800m Freestyles at the age of 12 in 2015.

Kassua, 18, came in sixth in the 400m Medley, ninth in the 200m Breaststroke, 13th in the 200m Medley, and 18th in the 100m Breaststroke.

“It was a very good meet for me personally, I had a lot of seasonal best times. Being so late into the season, I started really well personally and I was really excited with the results I produced,” she related.

“I had a really tough year mentally this year, so, to end the season on such a positive note, being so close to my best times and just having a good time at the pool.

“I feel really good about it. And I’m really happy that’s the way I swam and now I get to take some time off and just get ready for next season.”

Kassua said she felt more comfortable at her second nationals.

“Yeah, for sure. Last year around this time, I had a really bad cold when I flew to Montreal and so I didn’t swim well and I wasn’t feeling good at all. I wasn’t able to explore Montreal because of my cold.”

“It was a difficult time for me and you know coming back and being able to go to Nationals again, in a much better place, is very exciting because you know, bad memories with the last one. It’s good to replace them with new ones.”

For Tuja, competing in back to back meets took its toll.

“I didn’t have any expectations for myself. I had some troubles with injuries before both of them. The result I got was pretty crazy.”

Tuja said the injuries weren’t super-serious, but did cause troubles with his training.

“For me it was better than expected,” said Kassua. “Coming out from NAIG, I was really tired and exhausted. It’s a very condensed meet with lots of back to back racing, so I wasn’t expecting much when I came here to Toronto. I had an amazing time.”

Kassua said this time around, she had a chance to get out into Toronto and see the sights.

“We flew straight from Halifax to Toronto, so we had about a week before national started. So we got city passes and we got to see the museum, we went on a boat tour. We went into the CN Tower and the Science Centre, so, yeah, we got to explore a lot of it. I especially enjoyed the walks along the lake this week. I thought that was really stunning and helped me relax and get me in the right mindset for the competition.”

Tuja and Kassua said it was also exciting to be reunited with their teammates.

Kassua explained what’s coming up now for the terrific twosome.

“We get about two to three weeks off now,” said Kassua. “I think it’s gonna take this time to recoup and recover our muscles. I had a jammed shoulder coming up from NAIG, so this week was a little difficult, but I’m really happy with how the week went.

“But yeah, we’re gonna get some much needed rest now, mentally and physically prepare for the next season, which starts around September.”

Kassua will be going back to the University of Calgary (U of C), and Tuja will be returning to the Island to swim with the Island Swim Club in Victoria.

Kassua added, “I want to thank my coaches, especially Shereen Hill, for our time at NAIG. She was really helpful with the team there and helping us stay motivated and prepared.”

Kassua also thanked her head swimming coach at the U of C, Mike Blondel.

“He was also really, really helpful this week at nationals. He was very supportive and really helped coach me through my injury, my jammed shoulder, and helped organize my thoughts.”

Kassua’s U of C Swim Club also took home the Overall Team Banner with 3,944 points, a total which the young Yukoner contributed to.