Paris Olympian Kayla Sanchez was hailed “Swimmer of the Year” of the 2025 U Sports Swimming Championships after she broke two tournament records and collected seven gold medals over the weekend in Toronto.

Sanchez, carried the University of British Columbia (UBC) as she won most of their 11 gold medals to clinch the national women’s championship.

She clocked 25.85 seconds for a new meet record in the 50-meter butterfly event and won a gold medal and broke another record after posting a time of 24.18 seconds in the 50m freestyle.

‘(The team’s success means) a lot because I think they inspired me. Being a student-athlete is not easy and the team kind of helped me figure that out. It has just been a good experience.’

The Filipino-Canadian’s time in the 50m freestyle also set a new Philippine record, eclipsing her previous time of 24.41 seconds last year at the SI Clubhouse Colleges Cup in Vancouver, Canada.

“I’m honored and I wouldn’t be swimming the way I’m swimming without my team, so I owe it all to them and my coaches,” Sanchez said on the UBC website.

“(The team’s success means) a lot because I think they inspired me. Being a student-athlete is not easy and the team kind of helped me figure that out. It has just been a good experience.”

Sanchez also won the women’s 200m freestyle event with a time of one minute and 54.74 seconds and in the 100m freestyle with 52.48 seconds.

Joining forces with Emma O’Croinin, Anna Dumont-Belanger, Bridget Burton, Sanchez clinched the gold medal in the 400m freestyle relay with 3:37.78 and won the 400m medley relay with Burton, Eloise Allen, and Una Borchgrevink with a time of 3:59.16.

Sanchez also won in the 800m freestyle relay after teaming up with Dumont-Belanger, O’Croinin, and Camryn Stannard for a time of 7:54.04.

Sanchez will be one of the key figures for the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok from 9 to 20 December.