Sport | Swimming (Amateur) |
---|---|
Jurisdiction | National |
Founded | 1909 |
Headquarters | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
President | Susan Owen |
Vice president(s) | Zack Chetrat |
Secretary | Dawn Wilson |
Official website | |
www | |
Swimming Canada is the national governing body for competitive swimming in Canada. It was established in 1909, as the Canadian Amateur Swimming Association. Swimming Canada oversees the management of all swim programs throughout the nation and provides the foundation for beginner-level athletes to train towards the elite level, with the chance to attend world championships and the Olympic Games. The national headquarters is located in Ottawa, Ontario, with staff dispersed throughout Canada. [1]
The Canadian Amateur Swimming Association was established in 1909, after the preliminary appearance of a Canadian swimmer at the London 1908 Summer Olympics. Robert Zimmerman of Montreal was the first Canadian Swimmer to appear at any Olympic Games, competing in the 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke, and springboard Diving. [2]
At the 1912 Summer Olympics, George Hodgson won Canada's first two Olympic swimming medals and set a world record in the 1500 meter freestyle. Elaine Tanner became the first Canadian to win three swimming medals at the Mexico 1968 Summer Olympics. In the Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics, Canadian swimmers accounted for eight of the total 11 medals won by Team Canada. [3]
The Canadian Olympic team has brought swimmers to each Olympic Games, except for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, due to a government boycott. Over the past 100 years, Canadian swimmers have earned over 40 medals at the Olympic games, as well as many other successes through World Championship competitions. [4]
In the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, the Canadian women's swim team earned six out of the 22 medals that Team Canada won during the Games. Four of the six medals were earned by 16 year-old Penny Oleksiak, the only Canadian to win four medals in a single Olympic Games. [5]
Swimming Canada works with local club teams, university teams and national select teams, as well as community members to make annual events possible.
The national team as well as the junior national team is selected every year at Swimming Canada's Trials competition, and every four years those members form the Olympic team. Swimmers who win the meet and are able to achieve qualifying times set by FINA are then selected for the national team. [5]
Since 2001 Swimming Canada has honoured "the greatest Canadian swimmers of all time", and some coaches and builders, by induction into its Circle of Excellence.
Brent Matthew Hayden is a Canadian retired competitive swimmer. Representing Canada for a decade, Hayden is regarded as the fastest swimmer in Canadian history. Hayden won a bronze medal in the 100 m freestyle at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London with a time of 47.80, and was world champion in the same event in 2007 with Filippo Magnini of Italy. By winning the 100 metre, Hayden became the first Canadian in 21 years to win a gold medal at the World Aquatics Championships, and was also the first Canadian to appear in the 100 metre final at the Olympics since Dick Pound at the 1960 Summer Olympics, and the first Canadian to win an Olympic medal in the 100 metre. Hayden added a further three silver and one bronze medal to his World Championship totals.
Michael George Klim, OAM is an Australian swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world champion, and former world record-holder of the 1990s and 2000s. He is known as the creator of straight arm freestyle.
Kathryn Elise Hoff is a former American competitive swimmer, she is an Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. Hoff was known for her success in the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley. She represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2008 Summer Olympics, in which she was awarded a silver medal and two bronze medals.
Liam John Tancock is an English former competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympics, FINA world championships, and European championships, and England in the Commonwealth Games. He specialised in backstroke and individual medley events. He is a three-time world champion and a four-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, and held the world record in the 50-metre backstroke for almost a decade.
Annamay Pierse is a former competitive swimmer who represented Canada in major international swimming championships including the Summer Olympics, FINA World Championships, Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships.
Margaret Josephine Hoelzer is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. Hoelzer competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Olympic Games.
Cameron McEvoy is an Australian competitive swimmer who represented his country at the 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics. He is the reigning Olympic champion in the men's 50m freestyle, and also the first Australian man to win a gold at this event.
Fiona Doyle is an Irish swimmer. She represented Ireland in the 2016 Rio Olympics swimming in the 100M and 200M Breaststroke. In 2013, she competed in the 100m event at the World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona where she finished eleventh overall. She won a silver medal in the 100 m breaststroke at the 2013 Summer Universiade. In recognition of her achievements she was awarded Swim Alberta Female International Swimmer of the Year 2012/2013, University of Calgary female Athlete of the Year 2013 and SwimIreland High Performance Athlete of the Year 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Evgeny Mikhailovich Rylov is a Russian competitive swimmer and Olympic champion specializing in backstroke events. He won three gold medals at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, and a bronze medal at his senior international debut at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan. He also won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and a gold medal at the 2017 World Championships in Budapest, both were in the 200 metre backstroke event. In 2018, at the 2018 World Short Course Championships, he won gold medals in the 200 metre backstroke and 50 metre backstroke. At the 2019 World Championships, he won a gold medal in the 200 metre backstroke, silver medal in the 100 metre backstroke, and silver medal in the 50 metre backstroke. He won the gold medal in the 100 metre backstroke and 200 metre backstroke at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Taylor Madison Ruck is a Canadian competitive swimmer. She won two Olympic bronze medals as part of Canada's women's 4×100 metre and 4×200 metre freestyle relay teams at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Ruck won eight medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. Her eight medal performance of one gold, five silver, and two bronze tied her with three other athletes for the most all-time at a single Commonwealth Games, as well as making her the most decorated Canadian female athlete ever at a single Commonwealth Games. Ruck is the all-time leading medallist at the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships having won nine gold, two silver, and two bronze over the course of the 2015 and 2017 editions.
Penelope Oleksiak is a Canadian competitive swimmer. Nicknamed "Magic Penny", she is one of her country's most decorated Olympians. Oleksiak rose to fame during the 2016 Summer Olympics, where she became the first Canadian to win four medals in the same Summer Games, and the country's youngest Olympic champion with her gold medal win in the 100 m freestyle. She was the first athlete born in the 2000s to claim an Olympic gold medal in an individual event. Her success led to her being awarded the 2016 Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's top athlete, the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada's top female athlete for 2016, and a member of the Canadian Press team of the year. Five years later she won three additional medals at the 2020 Summer Olympics, breaking the national record for Olympic medals; joined in 2024 by sprinter Andre De Grasse, with seven Olympic medals each.
Thomas William Darnton Dean is a British competitive freestyle swimmer. He is a triple Olympic gold medallist, winning gold individually in 200 metre freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics and as part of a team in 4 × 200 m freestyle relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Alice Georgina Nana Dearing is a British swimmer, specialising in open water events. In June 2021, Dearing qualified to represent Great Britain in the 2020 Olympics. Dearing co-founded the Black Swimming Association in 2020. The charity was founded to encourage swimming among BME communities in Britain, and has the support of Swim England.
Meiron Amir Cheruti is an Israeli swimmer. He competes in 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 50m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle, and 4x50m freestyle. He qualified to represent Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Cheruti represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics in swimming in the Men's 50 metre freestyle.
Giles Smith is an American competitive swimmer who specializes in the butterfly and freestyle events. He currently represents the DC Trident which is part of the International Swimming League.
Lydia Alice Jacoby is an American professional swimmer. She was the first Alaskan to qualify for an Olympic Games in swimming, competing at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021, where she won the gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:04.95, which was the fastest time ever achieved by a female American swimmer in the event in the 17–18 age group. Later in the year, she was the overall highest scoring female American competitor at the 2021 FINA Swimming World Cup. In 2022, she became the fastest female American swimmer in history in the 100-yard breaststroke for the 17–18 age group with a national age group record time of 57.54 seconds. In 2023, she further lowered the record to a time of 57.45 seconds, then 57.29 seconds, and set a national age group record of 2:04.32 for the girls 17–18 age group in the 200-yard breaststroke. She is the 2023 NCAA Division I champion in the women's 100-yard breaststroke.
Kieran Smith is an American swimmer specializing in freestyle and individual medley events. He currently co-holds short course world records in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay and the 4×100-meter medley relay. He is the Americas record holder in the long course 400-meter freestyle and the American record holder in the 500-yard freestyle. In the 400-meter freestyle, he won the bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics and the gold medal at the 2022 World Short Course Championships. Following a fourth-place finish in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics, he won gold medals in the event at the 2021 World Short Course Championships, 2022 World Aquatics Championships, and the 2022 World Short Course Championships.
Joshua Liendo Edwards is a Canadian competitive swimmer who is an Olympic silver medalist. He is the first Black Canadian swimmer to win an individual medal at a major international championship. At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Liendo won a silver medal in the men's 100 m butterfly.
Jillian Janis Geohagan Crooks is a Caymanian competitive swimmer. She is the Cayman Islands record holder in the 50 metre butterfly and 100 metre freestyle. She competed in the 100 metre freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics, placing 41st in the prelims heats.
Ella Christina Jansen is a Canadian competitive swimmer specializing in freestyle, butterfly and individual medley events.
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