Winnicki swims fast, connects with her heritage at Indigenous Games

Rhinelander’s Abi Winnicki had a strong showing last week in a trans-continental competition, which she hopes will propel her into a strong senior season for the Hodag girls’ swim team. 

Moreover, she was able to learn about and experience some of her heritage.

Winnicki took home four gold medals and finished in the top three in all eight events she swam at the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The Indigenous Games were first held in 1990 as an Olympic-style competition for Native Americans or those of Native American descent. Currently the games offer competition in 16 sports for young athletes from the United States and Canada in the 14U, 16U and 19U age brackets.

Winnicki was eligible to compete in the games as she is a member of the Forest County Potawatomi. It was her first time competing in the once-every-three-years event. She was slated to compete in the 2020 games, before they were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Winnicki’s older sister, Makenna, competed in 2017 NAIG held in Toronto, where she won five medals in swimming.

“Definitely fast swimming and placing was a cherry on top but, even without that, it was super fun,” Abi Winnicki told the River News in a phone conversation last Thursday, following the final day of the swimming competition. “It was so fun. We met so many new people, made new friends. It was just so much fun.”

The format mirrored that of other national and international club competitions, with events spread out in four sessions over two days. Qualifying preliminary heats took place in the mornings with championship finals in the evenings. 

Winnicki waltzed to victory in two events during the first day of the program, capturing the 50-meter freestyle (26.95 seconds) and the 200 freestyle (2:07.14). She won the latter event by a comfortable 2.69 seconds. 

She also swam to a runner-up finish in the 200 individual medley (2:09.29) and was second in the 400 freestyle relay with Wisconsin teammates Reese VanDen Heuvel, Allison Giroux and Izzi Zablocki.

The second day of the program saw Winnicki capture gold in the 100 freestyle (57.52) and the 100 backstroke (1:03.07). She was third in the 100 breaststroke (1:15.17) and capped off the competition with a runner-up showing in the 200 freestyle relay, once again swimming with VanDen Heuvel, Giroux and Zablocki.

“I felt good,” she said. “(The first day) I kind of felt a little bit better, but I had 200s yesterday, so that was a harder lineup. Today was fun. It was a fun lineup today and I felt good. I felt fast.”

That was especially true in the sprint freestyle events. Using standard conversions from short-course meters to short-course yards — the standard in high school competition — Winnicki’s 50 freestyle time would have been 24.27, which is 0.06 seconds faster than the Rhinelander varsity record set by Malia Francis in 2021. Winnicki’s converted mark in the 100 freestyle was 51.81, roughly six tenths off the school record she set at last November’s WIAA Division 2 state meet. 

“It definitely gives me some good confidence,” she said. “My converted times were right there on my times. I definitely could have been a little more tapered even. I felt fast, but I definitely wasn’t my fastest — which is really exciting going into high school season.” 

Winnicki’s eight medals contributed a significant amount to Team Wisconsin’s medal count. Wisconsin finished seventh out of 23 delegations with 56 total medals. 

The games were about much more than competition. According to the NAIG’s official website the event, “help(s) Indigenous athletes realize the collective potential of our bodies, minds, spirit and of our people – our hopes and dreams – the spirit strong, brave and true. The Games will bring together 756 Indigenous Nations to celebrate, share and reconnect through sport and culture.”

Winnicki said she was able to experience that, an connect with her heritage while visiting the cultural village. 

“It was really exciting. Obviously, I have never done anything like this before, especially because I don’t live on the reservation. I feel like it gave me a good chance to get involved and represent (my heritage),” she said. “We saw a lot of music, which was really cool, like drumming. We also learned about smudging (a ceremony involving the burning of sacred herbs or resins). It was super neat just seeing all the different things.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].