Courtesy: Swimming Canada
Ottawa – Swimming Canada announced Sunday night the 31 athletes who will represent Canada at the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships from June 12-18 in Madeira, Portugal.
The announcement came at the conclusion of the 2022 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials held at the Saanich Commonwealth Place in Victoria.
Seventeen of the selected swimmers are returnees from the 2019 Para Worlds in London including superstar Aurélie Rivard of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., who claimed two gold, one silver and two bronze medals in the UK capital to up her career total to 14 podium finishes at the event (4-6-4).
Other world championship veterans heading to Portugal include 2019 medallists Alec Elliot, James Leroux, Shelby Newkirk, Tess Routliffe, Katarina Roxon, Abi Tripp, Nicolas-Guy Turbide and Aly Van Wyck-Smart.
Among first-time participants, Nicholas Bennett of Parksville, B.C., was a four-time finalist last summer in his Paralympic debut, shattering as many Canadian records along the way.
“I’ve been to a number of world championships but this one is especially satisfying considering everything we’ve gone through since London 2019,” said Rivard.
“It’s exciting to see a lot of new faces on the team. We’ve had the same group for a few years now, so it’s great to see more swimmers join the team and get to compete at their first world championships.”
Newkirk will be making her second Worlds appearance in Madeira.
“I’m so excited. It’s always such a great experience. I can’t wait to travel and train with everyone on the team because we haven’t done a lot of that recently. We’re going to have a really good team this year and I’m excited to see what happens.”
Wayne Lomas, Swimming Canada’s Associate High Performance Director and National Para Swimming Coach, is pleased to welcome more athletes to the Worlds team.
In 2019, an 18-swimmer Canadian contingent brought home 14 medals (2-7-5).
“After two years of uncertainty and disruption, I’m excited to select a large team comprising such a mix of experienced veterans and debutants,” said Lomas. “This is the first year of the Paris Games cycle and we have applied a deliberately broad criteria to capture the maximum number of eligible swimmers and provide them with important top level racing opportunities.
“We are further excited to increase our focus on relays, and our team selection reflects this.”
2022 WORLD PARA SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM:
| Name | Hometown | Club | Coach |
| Caleb Arndt | Newmarket, ON | HPC-Quebec / Newmarket Stingrays | Mike Thompson |
| Nicholas Bennett | Parksville, BC | CHP-Quebec / Ravensong Aquatic Club | Mike Thompson |
| Camille Bérubé | Gatineau, QC | Natation Gatineau | Craig McCord |
| Jacob Brayshaw | Coldstream, BC | KISU Swim Club | Renate Terpstra |
| Matthew Cabraja | Brampton, ON | University of Toronto | Byron MacDonald |
| Felix Cowan | Brossard, QC | HPC-Quebec / Club de Natation SAMAK | Mike Thompson |
| Danielle Dorris | Moncton, NB | HPC-Quebec / Club de Natation Bleu et Or | Mike Thompson |
| Sabrina Duchesne | St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, QC | Rouge et Or de l’Université Laval | Johanne Girardin |
| Alexander Elliot | Kitchener, ON | Club de Natation Région de Québec | Marc-André Pelletier |
| Nikita Ens | Meadow Lake, SK | Saskatoon Lasers | Ryan Jones |
| Jagdev Gill | Brockville, ON | Upper Canada Swim Club | Marty McKend |
| Arianna Hunsicker | Surrey, BC | HPC-Quebec / Rouge et Or Université Laval | Mike Thompson |
| Danielle Kisser | Delta, BC | HPC-Quebec / Rouge et Or Université Laval | Mike Thompson |
| James Leroux | Repentigny, QC | HPC-Quebec / Rouge et Or Université Laval | Mike Thompson |
| Angela Marina | Cambridge, ON | Brantford Aquatic Club | Paul Armstrong |
| Gabriel Martel | St-Lazare, QC | Beaconsfield Bluefins | Claude Picard |
| Justine Morrier | Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC | Club de Natation du Haut-Richelieu | France Latendresse |
| Shelby Newkirk | Saskatoon, SK | Saskatoon Lasers | Ryan Jones |
| Clémence Paré | Boucherville, QC | HPC-Quebec / Club de Natation SAMAK | Mike Thompson |
| Aurélie Rivard | St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC | Club de Natation Région de Québec | Marc-André Pelletier |
| Tess Routliffe | Caledon, ON | HPC-Quebec / Rouge et Or Université Laval | Mike Thompson |
| Katarina Roxon | Kippens, NL | Aqua Aces Swim Club | Leonard Roxon |
| Myriam Soliman | Saint-Hubert, QC | HPC-Quebec / Club Natation MUSTANG Boucherville | Mike Thompson |
| Jessica Tinney | Scarborough, ON | Kingston Y Penguins Swimming | Vicki Keith |
| Abi Tripp | Kingston, ON | Club de Natation Région de Québec | Marc-André Pelletier |
| Jordan Tucker | Guelph, ON | Guelph Marlins Aquatics Club | Sarah MacDonald |
| Nicolas-Guy Turbide | Quebec City, QC | Club de Natation Région de Québec | Marc-André Pelletier |
| Philippe Vachon | Blainville, QC | Club de Natation Mégophias | Charles Labrie |
| Emma Grace Van Dyk | Port Colborne, ON | Golden Horseshoe Aquatic Club | Ashley Almas |
| Aly Van Wyck-Smart | Toronto, ON | Variety Village | Vicki Keith |
| Zach Zona | Simcoe, ON | HPC-Quebec / Norfolk Hammerheads Aquatic Club | Mike Thompson |
STAFF
| Position | Name | Affiliation |
| Team Leader | Wayne Lomas | Swimming Canada |
| Assistant Team Leader | Emma Van Steen | Swimming Canada |
| Manager | Stephanie Matthews | Swimming Canada |
| Senior Team Coach | Mike Thompson | HPC-Quebec |
| Relay Coach | Ryan Allen | Club de natation Bleu et Or |
| Coach | Michel Bérubé | Swimming Canada |
| Coach | Craig McCord | Natation Gatineau |
| Coach | Haley Bennett | HPC-Quebec |
| Coach | Janet Dunn | Swimming Canada |
| Coach | Jean-Michel Lavallière | HPC-Quebec |
| Coach | Vicki Keith | Kingston Y Penguins Swimming |
INTEGRATED SUPPORT TEAM
| Position | Name |
| Media Attache | Michel Bélanger |
| Physician | Dr. Andréane Bourgeois |
| Registered Massage Therapist | Monty Churchman |
| Strength & Conditioning Coach | Alexandre Clark |
| Registered Massage Therapist | Jessica Sears |
| Physiologist | Simon Deguire |
| Psychologist | Daphné Laurin-Landry |
| Physiotherapist | Kathleen Smith |