Canadian Para swimmer Dorris ready for world title defence after reuniting with longtime coach

Who says you can't go home?

Canadian Para swimmer Danielle Dorris is back in familiar waters after spending last season in a new city and training environment, setting the stage for a title defence at this week's world championships.

Reunited with her longtime coach, the 20-year-old from Moncton, N.B., is clocking fast times and ready to shine in Manchester, England.

The two-time Paralympian made the move to Montreal last year to train at one of Swimming Canada's high performance centres, with an aim to soar even higher. The results were still there, with gold and silver at the 2022 worlds in Madeira, Portugal, but she realized her home club and original coach were a better fit for her to thrive.

"The training was a lot different," Dorris told CBC Sports. "It felt kind of more relaxed than what it felt like at home, which is weird to say because you wouldn't expect that from a high performance centre. And I just didn't click very well with some people there, so I think it's not the environment for me. But it's a learning experience that I'm happy I did."

While she enjoyed living on her own for the first time and experienced personal growth, she is happy to be back in the environment that helped her become one the best Para swimmers on the planet.

"My hours in the pool were a lot less than what I was doing at home because it took me like an hour to get to the pool every day, and then coming home and everything just took a lot out of my day," Dorris said. "But now that I'm home, I'm in the water more, I feel better, I'm more fit.

"I've already lost all the weight that I gained last year, swimming the times that I swam at worlds last year. I should be quite a bit faster than last year."

WATCH | Dorris tops podium at 2022 Para swimming worlds:

Dorris trains at the CNBO Swim Club in Moncton with coach Ryan Allen, who she sees as more of a best friend after knowing him for a decade. She began training with him in 2013 when she was 11, which made last year's move tough on both of them.

"It was rough. He was sad, I was sad, but we kept in contact the entire year," Dorris said. "It was different being away from him because he was one of my main support systems, because we have grown from the athlete-coach relationship to just a plain friendship. I could probably call him my best friend.

Things have always clicked for Dorris and Allen, with a training chemistry that has been there from the start.

"We began working together and the relationship worked out right away," Allen said.

Dorris's move back to CNBO didn't just mean more hours in the pool, it's a return to the more personalized approach that allows her to be her best.