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By Ian Gustafson

17-year career

Red Deer’s Rebecca Smith retires from competitive swimming

Feb 27, 2025 | 9:47 AM

Red Deer’s Rebecca Smith has officially retired from competitive swimming.

She announced the closing of the door on that chapter of her life on Wednesday following 17 years in the sport.

The 24-year-old explained, in retirement, she’s started a new job as a NICU nurse in Calgary after graduating from the nursing program at the University of Calgary.

“It’s bittersweet,” she said in an interview with rdnewsNOW.

“I knew my career was kind of coming close to an end I just wasn’t sure when it was going to happen. After the games this summer it was a great experience and I was super content with where I was at with my career and how it all played out with swimming. Being able to go to two Olympic games and graduating nursing school in December of 2023, it felt like the right time to move on. I didn’t really see myself going another four years to 2028. Two Olympics is more than I ever thought or imagine could happen.”

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She thanked her parents for their unending love and support. In addition, she thanked her home swim club, the Red Deer Catalina Swim Club, as well as the High Performance Centre Ontario, University of Toronto, University of Calgary, and the Cascade Swim Club in Calgary.

“Rebecca has been a valued and respected member of the Swimming Canada program and national team, progressing through the junior team and to the Olympic Games and achieving great success,” said High Performance Director and National Coach John Atkinson in a media release. “Combining her studies with her swimming in Canada shows what can be achieved and now we all wish Rebecca great success as she moves on from her swimming career.”

Smith began swimming at the age of seven and competitively swam at eight-years-old. She was a member of the 4×100-m freestyle relay team that took silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. And with 15 of her 17 World Aquatics medals coming in relays, Smith is tied with Penny Oleksiak for most relay medals of all-time for Canada at world championships.

Smith also competed at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris this past summer and competed in the women’s 100-metre butterfly where she finished eighth in heat four with a time of 58.85. She unfortunately missed the cut to qualify for the finals.

Smith represented Canada at her first World Aquatics Championships in 2017. She swam the butterfly portion of the 4×100-m mixed medley relay and Canada earned bronze in the final.

She had plenty of success at the World Aquatics Championships over the years, earning 17 career medals, the third most all time for Canada.

“‘Becs’ is one of the most outstanding teammates and swimmers I know. We’ve raced against each other since we were kids, and she was always someone I looked up to,” said former teammate Maggie Mac Neil, who announced her own retirement last fall.

“Especially as we advanced into our careers, I have immense respect for her achieving at the highest level both in the pool and as she got her advanced nursing degree. The nursing profession has gained a good one.”

Smith has a long list of accomplishments in her career but first made a name for herself at the 2015 World Junior Swimming Championships where she won a silver and a bronze medal. In the same event two years later, she won a pair of gold medals in relays and won two individual medals, a silver and bronze.

“Looking back at everything I’ve sacrificed, everything my family sacrificed just to reach my goals and get where I ended up in the sport is pretty cool to look back at,” she added.

“I have no regrets. There’s nothing I could have done more of. Moving across the country to train with the best and after my first Olympics pursuing my education in nursing to prepare myself for after sport, there’s nothing I would of done differently. Overall, I’m just thankful and grateful for everything.”