History of the Thunderbolts

The Thunderbolts Swim Club was formed in 1972 with the amalgamation of the Fort William “Y” Dolphins and the Port Arthur “Y” Marlins Swim Clubs. Under the coaching direction of Don Talbot, former Australian National Swimming Coach, the Thunderbolts quickly rose to the top of the National and International swimming scene.

By 1975, local swimmers were representing Canada at international meets, and swimmers from around the world were coming to Thunder Bay to train with the Thunderbolts. In 1976, the Thunderbolts sent eight swimmers to the Montreal Olympics. The Thunderbolts won the 1977 Women’s Senior Title and the 1978 Overall Winter National Title. One of the most exciting moments in the Thunderbolts history was at the 1977 summer Nationals in Montreal when two Thunderbolt swimmers, Graham Smith and Bill Sawchuk, swam under the world record time for the 200 I.M. Smith out-touched Sawchuk by just one tenth of a second.

The Thunderbolts have experienced many changes through out its history.  In Sept 2022, Roman Ramirez took over as Head Coach, and is working hard with his team of dedicated coaches to build and develop our team on the regional, provincial and national stage. The Thunderbolts are proud to call the Canada Games Complex home to our programming.

We invite past Thunderbolt members and supporters to add to this living history by emailing [email protected].