A career change at 24 shines a light even brighter on the accomplishments of Red Deer's Rebecca Smith.
In just eight years, Smith became a household name in Canadian swimming.
The 24-year-old announced Wednesday that she's moving on to the next chapter of her life to pursue a career in nursing and is retiring from competitive swimming.
"The first thing I think about it, I couldn’t have done that without my teammates and everyone I train with,” Smith told Swimming Canada in a press release Wednesday.
“I owe that to them as well because they’re the ones that helped me get to that point, they’re the ones pushing me in practice to be better. I feel like as a team, that we have all those medals is pretty cool.”
Smith won an incredible 25 medals over her international career with Swimming Canada. One of the most notable was a silver at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in the 4x100 freestyle relay, where she teamed up with Maggie Mac Neil, Penny Oleksiak and Kayla Sanchez.
Smith made the national team and represented Canada at her first World Aquatics Championships in 2017. She swam the butterfly leg of the 4X100-m mixed medley relay, allowing Oleksiak to rest for the final, where Canada earned bronze.
“That was a pivotal moment for me in realizing I had the capability of being on the senior national team and progressing,” Smith said in the release.
She also lists the 2018 Commonwealth Games silver in the 4X200-m freestyle relay as another career highlight.
“I did that alongside (HPC-Ontario teammates) Kayla (Sanchez), Taylor and Penny. I think that one always sticks in my mind as being super special because we were training together nine times a week and doing weights three times a week. Being on that podium together was awesome and obviously the Australian crowd (in Gold Coast) was something else. That’s something I’ll never forget.”
The decorated swimmer also recognized her roots, harkening back to her days when she first joined the Red Deer Catalina Swim Club and swam at the six-lane, 25-metre pool.
“To see that progression and the decisions I made to reach my goal of making the national team one day, it’s crazy to think about. It’s exciting to see all the sacrifices I made along the way were worth it and I don’t regret any of it,” Smith said.
At just 16, she left Alberta to join the High Performance Centre team in Ontario, and her career took off from there. Smith retires from the sport with the third most World Aquatics medals among Canadian swimmers all-time, with 17.
"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.
“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.”
While attending the University of Calgary for nursing, Smith also swam for the Dinos and was named the Canada West Swimmer of the Year in 2021 and 2022.
Smith is now working full-time in the neonatal intensive care unit at Calgary's Rockyview General Hospital.
