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'Meet and Greet' Evan Van Moerkerke at the water park

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A contingent of family, friends and supporters travelled to Toronto to watch Tillsonburg's Evan Van Moerkerke swim at the recent 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games. Many others watching on TV cheered as Van Moerkerke and Canada's 4x100m men's freestyle relay team won silver medals.

To recognize Van Moerkerke's international medal, and an 8th place at the World Aquatic Championships in Russia earlier this month, the Town of Tillsonburg's Recreation Department is organizing a Meet and Greet Night with Van Moerkerke at the Lake Lisgar Water Park on Wednesday, August 26.

"We're going to have a special Free Swim from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Water Park," said Rec Department's Julie Dawley.

In addition to the free swim, there will be FREE cake.

"We're going to do a small presentation, and he's going to sign autographs," said Dawley. "And yes, I'm sure he will have his medal.

"We're hoping to have a big crowd. We'd like to have a Tillsonburg flag and have all the kids sign it for Evan. Or maybe a T-shirt if we can't get a flag."

The water park closes at its regular August time at 5 p.m., and will re-open for the Meet and Greet at 6 p.m.

"It's supposed to be nice that day, too," Dawley smiled.

Van Moerkerke, who at the age of 17 represented Canada at the 2011 FINA World Junior Championships in Peru, made the senior national team last April.

Swimming the third leg of the 4x100m relay, Van Moerkerke achieved a personal best 49.06 helping his team win the Pan Am silver.

In Kazan, Russia, the 4x400m relay team reached the finals with a sixth-place finish in the preliminaries. That result qualified the Canadian team for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics in Brazil.

If Van Moerkerke is one of the four fastest 100m swimmers at the Canadian Olympic Trials next April, he will retain his spot on the 4x100m relay team and compete in Rio de Janeiro next August.

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