to 1982. He excelled at the national and international level by winning All-America Awards in each of his four years of competition. He earned a total of 13 Big Ten Championship titles. Canales was the first swimmer in Big Ten Conference history to capture an individual title (100 yard freestyle) during his four years of competition while training under Head Olympic Coach Gus Stager and 1964 US Olympian Bill Farley. Canales was a 100-meter freestyle finalist in the 1978 World Championships in West Berlin, Germany, earning a 5th place. He was the "first" Puerto Rican swimmer to final in the world championships along with Jesse "Cheyenne" Vassallo. He earned five gold medals and one silver medal during the 1978 Central American and Caribbean Games in Medellín, Colombia. He became the first Puerto Rican to win an individual medal in the Pan American Games by winning silver in the 100 meters free in 1979 (San Juan, Puerto Rico) and repeating that feat in 1983 (Caracas, Venezuela). He also won a bronze medal in the 4 x 100 meters medley relay in 1979. Fernando became a national champion while representing Club Wolverine in 1986, when he won the 4 x 100 meter free relay alongside three other Wolverines, Joe Parker, Greg Varner and Dave Kerska. This was the fastest Club Relay in the World for that year. He won the 100 meter free gold medal during the Soviet Spartakiade National Championships in 1979. He won the 50 meter and 100 meter freestyle events during the Swedish and German World Cup events in 1983 and 1984. He won the Latin Cup in 1978, 1979 and 1981. He won sprint freestyle titles in Italy, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico, The United States, Germany, Sweden, Dominican Republic and Guadeloupe. Canales made three Olympic Teams: Montreal '76, Moscow '80 and Los Angeles '84). He was honored as the flag bearer for the Puerto Rican Olympic Team during the 1984 Summer Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies in Los Angeles, 1984. Canales, a 13-time Big Ten Champion and 4 year All-America at Michigan, is featured in the book "Paths to the Olympics – Maize and Blue to Olympic Gold" by Marc Parrish, Colemar Press 1997. He attributes his triumphs to the support of his mother, brothers and sister, the memory of his father, John Daly's tutelage, his teammates, and the wonderful coaches that helped him during his career: