Rebecca Smith, Olympic silver medallist at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, Japan. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

Rebecca Smith

Red Deer Olympic swimmer to compete at Commonwealth Games

May 9, 2022 | 4:11 PM

A Red Deer Olympian is among those named to the Canadian swimming team for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

On May 9, 2022, Commonwealth Sport Canada (CSC) and Swimming Canada announced that 22 year-old Rebecca Smith of Red Deer is among the athletes selected to represent Team Canada in swimming at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, taking place July 28 to Aug. 8.

Swimming Canada also confirmed the eight Para swimmers who will be among the 31 athletes representing Canada in the pool at the fully integrated event. The group also includes ten-time Paralympic medallist Aurélie Rivard and fellow returning Gold Coast 2018 medallist Philippe Vachon, while Commonwealth Games first-timers include two-time Paralympic medallist Nicolas-Guy Turbide.

Smith is a silver medallist from the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.

“It’s exciting to have some of our best Paralympic program swimmers alongside our Olympic program team for these unique Games. The Commonwealth Games offers some of our very best swimmers to showcase their excellence in an integrated multi-sport event. Our Canadian team is fortunate to have Olympic and Paralympic champions training, living and racing together,” added Swimming Canada Associate High Performance Director and National Para Swimming Coach Wayne Lomas. “Now that we have our team in place, we can focus on delivering the best possible results for Canada this summer, beginning with the World Para Swimming Championships next month in Portugal.”

New Schools

RDCRS approves 3-year capital plan which includes two new schools

12h ago

CELEBRATING COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENTS

Chinook's Edge celebrates multiple King Charles III Coronation Medal winners

13h ago

VALUES HIGHER THAN EXPECTED

Sylvan Lake town council to make budget adjustment following property assessments

14h ago

Canada won 20 medals in the pool at the 2018 Commonwealth Games with three gold, 11 silver and six bronze medals. That was Canada’s third-largest swimming medal haul, behind only Auckland 1990 (23 medals) and Kuala Lumpur 1998 (21), say Canadian team officials.

“We anticipate that the spectators at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre will experience an exciting and competitive swimming competition at the brand new venue,” says Scott Stevenson, Executive Director, Team Canada 2022. “We appreciate the work Swimming Canada’s technical leadership team have undertaken to ensure we will have a competitive team for the Birmingham Games this summer.”

Eight Para swimmers will join 23 Olympic program athletes, 22 of whom were nominated following last month’s Canadian Swimming Trials in Victoria, B.C. The 23^rd swimmer, Stephen Calkins of the University of Calgary Swim Club, was added as a replacement for original qualifier Yuri Kisil, who declined his spot to focus on rehabilitating his injured shoulders following next month’s FINA World Championships.

The list includes defending 100-m and 200-m backstroke Commonwealth Games Champion Kylie Masse, and returning Commonwealth medallists Kayla Sanchez, Penny Oleksiak, and Red Deer’s Rebecca Smith. National team veteran Katerine Savard, the 100-m butterfly champion from Glasgow 2014 and former Games record holder, makes her return to the Games after sitting out in 2018.

Meanwhile, Swimming Canada’s 2021 Male Swimmer of the Year Josh Liendo, fresh off a three-medal performance at last year’s FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) will be among the rookies to watch, as will his 15-year-old High Performance Centre – Ontario teammate Summer McIntosh, winner of four events at last month’s Trials.

The Swimming competition will take place July 29 to Aug. 3 at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre. Swimming Canada High Performance Director and National Coach John Atkinson will serve as team leader, with Senior Coach, Olympic Program Martyn Wilby as head coach. The team will gather in Caen, France, for its staging camp before travelling into Birmingham.

Birmingham 2022 will feature 19 sports and eight para-sports as part of its program with up to 4,500 athletes taking part. The Commonwealth Games are described as the only multi-sport event that feature equal standing for sport and para-sport events, and the 2022 Games will showcase the largest para-sport program ever. In addition, for the first time in its history, the Games will feature more medal events for women (135) than men (133).

The team that will represent Canada at Birmingham 2022 includes:

Athletes:

Staff supporting the 2022 Commonwealth Games swim team include:

ABOUT TEAM CANADA 2022

The 2022 Commonwealth Games will be host to 71 participating nations and territories taking part in the Games. The Commonwealth Games are a valuable opportunity as a steppingstone and development opportunity for Canadian athletes, coaches, and managers working towards Olympic and Paralympic success. Canada’s performance projection in 2022 is a top 3 ranking, in total medals, amongst all nations and territories competing. Commonwealth athletes won 80 per cent+ of Canada’s medals at the 2020 Olympic Games.

For local news delivered daily to your email inbox, subscribe for free to the rdnewsNOW newsletter here. You can also download the rdnewsNOW mobile app in the Google Play and the Apple App Stores.