Rebecca Smith chose a tough road to her second Olympic team, and she got there on a combination of caffeine, divine intervention and a strong support network. Between September and December 2023, Smith worked 12-hour shifts on a neonatal intensive care unit, three to four days a week, to complete her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at the University of Calgary. Meanwhile she continued training in the pool full-time. A typical day might see Smith, who swims with Dave Johnson at the Cascade Swim Club, in the water at 5 a.m. “My shifts were 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and the pool downtown opens at 5 ..read more

By Jim Morris Yuri Kisil looked at the clock and heaved a sigh of relief. The time he swam to finish second in the 100-metre freestyle at the Olympic & Paralympic Swimming Trials, Presented by Bell, was good enough to earn him a place on Swimming Canada’s team competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Just a few months earlier the 28-year-old from Calgary wasn’t even sure if he wanted to continue swimming, let alone compete at his third Olympics. Sore physically and exhausted mentally, Kisil was considering retiring. Instead, he took a long break from swimming. “I had to step away from the spo ..read more

Swimming Canada’s team at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will feature four team captains, selected by a vote of their teammates. The group includes Kylie Masse, a four-time Olympic medallist set to compete at her third Games, second-time Olympians Mary-Sophie Harvey and Josh Liendo, and 32-year-old Olympic rookie Jeremy Bagshaw, a veteran of multiple other national teams. “It’s very special and I feel like this is even more special because my teammates voted,” said Masse, who earned bronze in the women’s 100-m backstroke at the Rio 2016 Games, then upgraded to silver as part of a three-medal hau ..read more

By Jim Morris Judging growth can be a challenge. Calculating a person’s height and weight is easy. Measuring their leadership skills and ability to shoulder expectations is more difficult. Since his Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games Josh Liendo has grown physically. He’s also evolved into being the leader of the Canadian men’s team heading to this summer’s Paris Olympics and relishes the challenge of facing some of the best swimmers on the world’s biggest stage. “I feel more comfortable,” said Liendo, who since Tokyo has won 11 medals at two world long course championships, a short-course ..read more

By Jim Morris She has a scar on both shoulders, one on her neck and one on her abdomen. Regan Rathwell recovered from four surgeries in 14 months – plus a broken foot – to get herself to the Olympic & Paralympic Trials, Presented by Bell, in May. There were times when Rathwell, who trained at the High Performance Centre – Ontario before attending the University of Tennessee, wondered if the pain and frustration were worth the potential reward. “It was taking a toll on my body,” said the 20-year-old from Ashton, Ont. “As soon as you step away you really learn to appreciate it more.” Bu ..read more

Not many people have followed a path like the one Apollo Hess has taken to the Olympic Games. The 21-year-old from Lethbridge, Alta., a proud member of the Kainai Nation (Blood Tribe), hopes that could change if younger swimmers see themselves in his story. Hess didn’t grow up in the largest city or have a lot of advantages. Lethbridge has a population of about 100,000 people, and only one 50-m pool, at the University of Lethbridge. He also didn’t have a father in his life growing up, yet his mother, Ingrid Hess, made sure he and his brothers (Remko is four years older, Til a year younger) had ..read more

Ottawa, June 19, 2024 – Para swimmers Hannah Ouellette and Clémence Paré have been nominated to the Paris 2024 Canadian Paralympic Team, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and Swimming Canada announced Wednesday. The two athletes join 20 Para swimmers already nominated to compete for Canada this summer. Ouellette (Saskatoon) and Paré (Boucherville, Que.), who both race in the women’s S5 classification, will be making their Paralympic debuts. Ouellette, who was internationally classified to compete in Para swimming last winter, won a silver medal at the World Para Swimming World Series stop in I ..read more

By John Atkinson, High Performance Director/National Coach Following last month’s Olympic & Paralympic Trials, Presented by Bell, 28 swimmers have been nominated to the Canadian Olympic Committee to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the pool. They will join our open water marathon swimmer who qualified from the Doha 2024 World Aquatics Championships. While these 29 swimmers will represent Canada in Paris, so many people and factors have contributed to their journey. Before we travel to France for the Games in just a few short weeks, I would like to recognize some important aspects ..read more

By Jim Morris For years Jeremiah Ross-Medica was afraid of the water and didn’t know how to swim. “My mom always told me to never be afraid of anything,” said the 13-year-old student from Montreal’s École Chomedey-De-Maisonneuve. Ross-Medica’s life changed when he enrolled in the Lifesaving Society of Canada’s Swim to Survive program which teaches basic skills of how to survive an unexpected fall in deep water. He was part of a group of 25 students aged 13 to 14 who flew to Toronto during the Olympic & Paralympic Swimming Trials, Presented by Bell, to graduate from the program. “It was nic ..read more

Paralympian Tess Routliffe of Caledon, Ont., captured a medal of each colour at the sixth leg of the 2024 Citi World Para Swimming World Series in Berlin, highlighted by a world-record performance on Saturday in the women’s 50-m breaststroke SB7. Aurélie Rivard, the five-time Paralympic champion from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., also starred for the 13-athlete Canadian delegation with a win in the women’s 200 freestyle multiclass final and bronze in the 50 free. Both national team veterans were among 20 athletes nominated last month to represent Canada in Para swimming at the Paris 2024 Par ..read more