Jacqueline Simoneau

Last updated

Jacqueline Simoneau
SimoneauOlympian.jpg
Personal information
NicknameJackie
Born (1996-09-29) September 29, 1996 (age 28)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight53.5 kg (118 lb)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Synchronized swimming
ClubCanada Artistic Swimming
Medal record
Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Artistic swimming
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2024 Doha Solo free routine
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2024 Doha Solo technical routine
Pan American Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2015 Toronto Duet
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2015 Toronto Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2019 Lima Duet
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2019 Lima Team
World Junior Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2014 Helsinki Solo
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2012 Volos Solo

Jacqueline Simoneau (born September 29, 1996) is a Canadian artistic swimmer, Olympian, and sport leader. She has represented Canada at three Olympic Games and has won over 80 international medals. Beyond sport, she is recognized for her leadership in athlete governance, her volunteer and philanthropic work, and her academic achievements in health sciences and podiatric medicine.

Contents

Career

Simoneau is a three-time Olympian (2016 Rio de Janeiro, 2020 Tokyo, 2024 Paris). She is a World Champion and an 86-time World medalist, highlighting her long-standing presence at the elite level of artistic swimming. At the continental level, she is a four-time Pan American Games champion, establishing herself as one of Canada’s most successful athletes in the discipline.

Over more than a decade on the national team, Simoneau has consistently contributed to Canada’s international standing in artistic swimming, serving as a leader and mentor within the program.

Olympian timeline

Simoneau won two gold medals at the 2015 Pan American Games and qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games. On May 18, 2016, Simoneau was named to Canada's 2016 Olympics team in the duet event. [1] In Rio, Simoneau and her teammate Karine Thomas finished seventh. [2] In July 2019, Canada's Olympic team – led by Simoneau – competed in Gwangju, Korea, where their team finished 7th in both Free and Technical team, and 4th in the Highlight routine; Simoneau and Claudia Holzner's Technical duet placed 7th and their Free 6th; Simoneau's Technical and Free solos placed 5th. [3] These results led to the qualification of Simoneau and Holzner's Women's Technical Duet, and the Canadian Women's Free and Technical Teams to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. [4]

Education

Simoneau was valedictorian, and graduated from the Health Sciences program at Vanier College in Montreal. She is currently completing her Doctorate in Podiatric Medicine at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.

She also holds a certificate in neuroscience from HarvardX, combining her academic interest in medicine with her background in high-performance sport.

Leadership and activism

Simoneau holds several positions in athlete advocacy and sport governance. She is a member of the World Aquatics Athletes’ Committee and serves on the Canadian Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission, ensuring athletes’ voices are represented in decision-making at both national and international levels.

She is also a Believe in Sport Ambassador with the International Olympic Committee, promoting integrity, fair play, and ethical leadership in sport.

Simoneau founded Aqua Unity, an international initiative aimed at fostering inclusivity, promoting adaptive opportunities in artistic swimming, and supporting marginalized communities around the world.

Philanthropy and volunteering

Simoneau is deeply engaged in volunteering and philanthropy. She is an ambassador for the Girls Forward Foundation, supporting the empowerment of girls and young women through sport and education.

She also serves as an ambassador for the Course de la Compassion Palliative Care Walk, an initiative raising awareness and funds for palliative care services.

Through Aqua Unity, Simoneau works to make aquatic sports more inclusive, creating pathways for adaptive athletes and marginalized youth to access and thrive in the sport.

References

  1. ↑ "Synchronized swimmers Jacqueline Simoneau, Karine Thomas named for Rio". Canadian Press . Toronto, Canada. May 18, 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  2. ↑ Demers, Xavier (August 18, 2016). "Une expérience incroyable pour Jacqueline Simoneau". Journal de Chambly (in French). Chambly, Canada. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  3. ↑ "2019 FINA World Championships". Canada Artistic Swimming. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  4. ↑ Holzner, Claudia (September 2, 2019). "We Qualified for the Olympics!!". Claudia Holzner. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.