HSB25 HIGH ACHIEVERS: Upward trajectory taking Molly Barber to world junior swimming championships, Boston University

By Martin Cleary

The first time Molly Barber went face-to-face with a swimming challenge she was brave and determined to conquer the beast.

There was no medal and podium ceremony for this test, no scoreboard timing and definitely no modern, 10-lane pool.

At age seven, Barber wanted to start swimming without wearing a personal flotation device at her parents’ cottage off Ansley Island in Lake Huron. But to accomplish that next level of swimming, she had to swim 100 metres to a rock referred to as Bird Poop Island.

The day Barber selected to make her swim was rainy, windy and the waves were concerning. But she threw caution to the wind and jumped into the water to strive for that goal.

Fearless, Barber made it to the island and she actually received two rewards – the ability to swim in the deep waters near the cottage and a canoe ride home by a relative who shadowed her swim to the island.

“I had to wear a life jacket until I could pass a swim test by swimming to an island 100 metres away,” Barber explained. “I was determined. I didn’t want to wear a life jacket.

“On the day of the test, it was rainy, the water was wavy and it was gross. My parents said I could do it later. But I was determined at age seven. I got to the island and was one of the younger cousins to do it.”

That uplifting moment also turned the key and opened the door to allow her to explore competitive swimming. A decade later, Barber, a member of Swim Ottawa, will be representing Canada next month at the world junior swimming championships before heading to Boston University on an athletics scholarship.

When Swimming Canada selected its 26-athlete team for the World Aquatics junior swimming championships Aug. 19-24 in Otopeni, Romania, Barber was named to represent her country at the highest international meet for her age group.

At the Canadian swimming trials in Victoria last month, she placed a startling second in the women’s junior 50-metre butterfly and bettered the world junior championship qualifying time with a personal-best clocking of 27.43 seconds. She also will be considered for the 4×100-metre relay team, after placing fourth in the 50-metre freestyle in a personal-best 25.99 seconds at the trials.

“It was an interesting experience. I have never been able to race at that high level and it was the most pressure I have ever felt,” Barber said about dealing with the intensity of the trials.

Barber was greatly concerned about making the world junior team, a goal she focused on for the past seven months, after her opening trials race didn’t go as planned.

“I thought my best chance was in the 100-metre butterfly, but it didn’t go well,” Barber said about placing seventh in the women’s junior final in 1:02.44.

Feeling tired and ready to return to Ottawa from Victoria, Barber converted a strong start in her final race into a powerful swim for a silver-medal performance and an eventual ticket to the world junior championships.

“I learned a couple of weeks ago during my exams,” the Nepean High School Grade 12 graduate said about being selected to her first world championship team. “Friends of mine knew before I knew.

“I was surprised. I was excited to be on the team and felt grateful because I had put in all the work.”

When Barber moved into competitive swimming at 14, she enjoyed the head-to-head races, but lacked motivation and dedication on the daily training. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down swimming for a long period in 2020 and 2021, but it made her realize how much she missed the sport.

While her peers were advancing in swimming, she found herself left behind. Barber realized she needed to take a more serious approach to her training sessions.

At a Quebec Cup meet last November, Barber, who was on the Ontario Tour team for the first time, gave an eye-opening performance. Swim Ottawa coaches Aaron Dahl and Rick Burton took this cue and started to point Barber’s program in the direction of making the world junior championships.

Swimming against national-level athletes in her races, Barber won the women’s junior 100-metre butterfly and was third in the 50-metre freestyle.

“I had great results and took off a lot of time in my finals in almost all events,” she said. “I had PBs and a few medals.”

Immediately after the world junior championships, Barber will prepare to head to Boston University, where she will have an undeclared major in her first year, but will focus on the sciences. She also will swim for the Terriers in the Patriot League.

“I emailed the schools I was interested in. Boston University and one other contacted me. A few others told me they didn’t have enough space in their programs,” explained Barber, an honours student who visited Boston University to get a full understanding about its academics and swimming.

“I was lucky a coach saw my potential and my trajectory. The coach trusted me when I said I was working hard and looking to improve more.”

Burton was happy to see Barber heading to Boston University.

“They got a gem in the rough,” he said.

Motivated in her swimming career by a swim to Bird Poop Island, seeing her friends moving ahead without her and scoring big results at a Quebec Cup meet, Barber’s next goal – competing in a Summer Olympics – could be inspired by her great aunt.

Sara Jenkins (Barber), who passed away Oct. 22 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease at age 79, swam for Canada at the 1956 and 1960 Olympics. As a 15-year-old, she was fifth in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay, sixth in the 100-metre backstroke and eighth in the 100-metre freestyle in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956.

Barber also was a three-time medallist at the 1959 Pan-Am Games and set a world record in the 100-metre backstroke in Chicago.

Read More of our 2025 High School Best Series as we tip our caps to top local student-athletes at: OttawaSportsPages.ca/Ottawa-High-School-Best-2025