Red Deer's Rebecca Smith was the guest speaker at the Special Olympics Celebrity breakfast on Tuesday. (rdnewsNOW/ Ashley Lavallee-Koenig)

By Ian Gustafson and Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

Dedication to sport

Olympian Rebecca Smith inspires athletes at 17th Special Olympics Red Deer Celebrity Breakfast

Jun 24, 2025 | 5:23 PM

The 17th annual Special Olympics Red Deer Celebrity Breakfast had yet another successful turnout Tuesday morning.

With over 225 people in attendance at the Harvest Centre at Westerner Park, Special Olympics Red Deer raised approximately $10,000-$12,000 that will go back directly into the organization.

Red Deer’s Rebecca Smith, a two-time Olympian and Olympic silver medalist in swimming, was the event’s guest speaker.

“Speaking in Red Deer where I grew up is always so special and also just the Special Olympics in general is so special and I really do support all athletes,” she said. “I was hoping to inspire them and encourage them to keep working hard and training hard is something I’m happy to do.”

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.

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

“I think it’s really important to have lots of people supporting everyone in different areas wherever they’re at in their sport. With sport you learn lots of different skills and it’s helpful later on in life,” she said. “I’m really passionate about sport and I think in all aspects, whether you’re growing up trying new sports or have a disability, I think having those outlets for everyone and including everyone is super important.”

After retiring from competitive swimming in February, Smith was able to get a job as a nurse in Calgary at the Rocky View NICU.

“Even just seeing my progression the last few months with the nursing skills I’ve been able to build and working with all the nurses on the unit, I feel like my skills from swimming bringing those team skills in has really benefitted me,” she added.

Red Deer has approximately 300 Special Olympians aged 10 and up that compete throughout various sports, according to Special Olympics Red Deer Chair Jerry Tennant

“We offer programs throughout the year, including eight in the winter months and six in the summer. That’s everything from bowling to swimming, pickleball, and powerlifting,” Tennant said. “Athletes can register in more than one sport as long as it’s not on the same nights.”

Athletes pay a registration fee which the Special Olympics try to subsidize as often as they can. For example, swimming is $50 for six months and golf is $20.

“We keep it as low as we can because a lot of athletes are on social assistance and others still live with their families. We charge everyone the same,” Tennant said.

Coming up, Special Olympics Alberta will host provincials in three weeks in Grande Prairie with 50 athletes and 20 coaches from Red Deer set to compete.

The fall programs in Red Deer start in October with online registration expected to open in early August.

“We’re doing very well. Our finances we manage to break even or even make a little surplus each year we can put into the bank so we do have some reserves in case we have a bad year,” Tennant said.

Currently, they’re looking for volunteer coaches for bowling, which is the organization’s biggest sport. The previous coaches recently retired after decades of volunteering.

“We are always looking for coaches and other volunteers… Some of our coaches have been around for 30-35 years and more. With 14 sports it’s always a challenge to come up with coaches.”