First Time Olympians Series

Welcome to our new profile series highlighting Ontario's first time Olympic and Paralympic qualifiers who will be in Paris this summer.

Excruciating pain.

They are words no one likes to hear, that can send jitters through your body. Regan Rathwell knows the feeling.

She has also gone through four surgical operations in a span of 14 months.

Not something an elite athlete enjoys experiencing.

But now she’s back, displaying her mastery in the water – and Rathwell, a remarkable individual, has taken it to a level that she’s never experienced in past.

The 20-year-old swimmer from Ashton, Ont., a small village located about 40 kilometres southwest of Ottawa, has worked very hard, and emotionally, mentally, and physically and is ready for the next page in her life.

She has qualified, as one of Canada’s top female swimmers, to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Merci beaucoup.

After all she has gone through, Rathwell is ecstatic about being selected for the world sports showcase set for later this summer in what is known as a global centre for art, fashion, gastronomy, and culture.

Now, add the word – sports.

The French have a saying for when things get rough: hang in there. They say - “after the rain, good weather.” It’s a phrase that encourages a person to “hang in there”. Even if things are challenging, everything will eventually get better.

Je ne vais pas perdre espoir. The English translation : I am not going to give up hope.

Rathwell has been ravaged by injuries and trips to the hospital the past few years that included dealing with a broken foot suffered in a weight room accident, a concussion, surgeries on each of her shoulders to repair torn muscles, and a trip to the emergency department last fall to deal with some internal bleeding in the abdomen.

As if that isn’t enough, just before the end of the year, she was very sick from an infection when medical staff found a mass in her neck.

There’s also the other pain, too, a fifth-place finish in Hawaii at the 2022 Junior Pan Pacific championships in the 200-metre backstroke and being away from the pool during physical therapy and rehabilitation.

Getting over challenging times, well, that took some serious time and patience.

“More than once, I thought about future swimming,” she said. “I was frustrated. The pain and the recovery. I wondered if it was realistic to believe that I will return to a level I was at before these injuries and problems?”

For Rathwell, there had been promising times, like the athletic scholarship to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The smiles also returned including those that came at the Canadian Olympic Trials in Toronto, and confirmation that her next major swim event would be in France.

“This is very special to me - and I am deeply honored,” said Rathwell, who vividly remembers those early years of swim lessons followed by fun days with the Carleton Place Water Dragons. “I wasn’t very good (in swimming) when I started at eight years of age.”

Rathwell said improving on her strokes took some time, but it became abundantly clear that she was on the road to competitive swimming. At age 12, having switched to the Greater Ottawa Kingfish swim club, her first big event was a first-place finish for her age class at the Junior Nationals in Calgary.

She also won a bronze medal in the 400-metres individual medley at the 2017 Canada Summer Games when she was just 13 years old – and the youngest member of Team Ontario.

And now, after a second-place finish, a silver medal, and a personal best time in the 200-metres backstroke last month at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre (TPASC), it’s time to focus on the Games of the XXXIII Olympics. Ranked fifth going into that race, she finished behind four-time Olympic medal winner Kylie Masse.

Efficient, disciplined and a high calibre performer, Rathwell is a significant addition to the Canadian team. She also has that thirst for success and knows her world is wide open again.

There’s lots to like about Rathwell, one who builds on maturity and discipline. Okay, throw some luck in, too.

So, tell us what it was like after finishing the big race in a time of two minutes, 09.38 seconds.

Heading into the trials, Rathwell was ranked fifth in the event. She finished second, behind four-time Olympic medal winner Kylie Masse, clocking a personal best time of 2:09.38 – one second under the Olympic qualifying time.

“I was actually scared to look at the clock,” recalled Rathwell. “I was in third place at the last turn and caught up at the end. I was nervous and, being on my back swimming, I could see the clock. It was a moment of pure shock.”

Out of the pool and swim competition from October of 2022 until early 2024, Rathwell was ecstatic to know she would be a first time Olympian for Canada.

“I’m still trying to find one word to describe how I feel,” she said. “I am just so thankful to everyone, my family, trainers, coaches, and others, who has helped me along this journey. Swimming for Canada is so special and if I can also inspire one person, who is having a hard time because of a setback, just like I went through, I will consider my swim career a success.”

David Grossman is a veteran multi award-winning Journalist and Broadcaster with some of Canada’s major media, including the Toronto Star and SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN, and a Public Relations professional for 50+ years in Canadian sports and Government relations.