Aurelie Rivard

Started: She began learning to swim at age three, took up swimming properly at age eight, and started competing in the sport at age 11. (winnipegfreepress.com, 08 Aug 2019; cbc.ca, 29 Jan 2019; paralympic.org, 06 Aug 2015; tvasports.ca, 22 Aug 2013) Reason: "I wanted to become a lifeguard but I was too young, so I started swimming just for fun. My coach spotted me in the pool and said, 'You have potential', so that is how she got me into competition. I learned to love swimming because at that time I was struggling with a lot of mental health issues. I loved the challenge. I love to challenge myself, to set myself goals and to work really hard for it and achieve it. I think it's the best feeling in the world when you know you worked really hard for something you wanted. I love the pool and I love the athlete life." (newswire.ca, 13 Nov 2019; winnipegfreepress.com, 08 Aug 2019; cbc.ca, 12 Apr 2019; paralympic.org, 06 Aug 2015) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (townandcountrytoday.com, 05 Aug 2023) Awards: She was named Best Female Athlete at the Tokyo 2020 Canadian Paralympic Sport Awards. (paralympic.ca, 01 Sep 2023) She was named Female Para Swimmer of the Year by Swimming Canada for 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2021. (swimming.ca, 25 Mar 2022) She was named 2020 International Women's Athlete of the Year at the Sports Quebec Gala in Canada. (Facebook profile, 16 Sep 2020) She was named 2016 Female Athlete of the Year in Quebec, Canada. She shared the award with short track skater Marianne St-Gelais. (swimming.ca, 02 Dec 2018; paralympic.org, 24 Apr 2017) She was Canada's flag bearer for the closing ceremony of the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (cbc.ca, 18 Sep 2016) In February 2013 she received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal from the Canadian Paralympic Committee [CPC]. (newswire.ca, 27 Feb 2013) Additional Info: ANTI-BULLYING She has spoken about being bullied at a young age, which led her to have mental health issues and thoughts of quitting the sport. She has given advice to children and parents about how to combat bullying. "I know I am not the only one who went through it [bullying], I know how hard it was and how hard it can be. I have got a lot of messages from parents and kids who have been experiencing similar things and honestly that is one of the main reasons why I spoke out. Me as a kid, when I was going through that, one of the things I was looking for was someone who would understand me. It was very hard to talk about. It is not a place I like to go back to. But I was happy I went back there, it was worth it. As parents you are so powerless when your kids are going through that, so they have understood it better. I have given them tricks to help their kids as much as they can and same with the kids, giving them hope. Honestly, I have been really happy that it has helped even one kid. It's been very positive." (cbc.ca, 12 Apr 2019; paralympic.org, 09 Sep 2019) OTHER STUDIES She has studied law at Laval University in Quebec, QC, Canada. "I capitalised on the opportunity to study full time during the [COVID-19] pandemic. It's been a beneficial mental break from swimming and allowed me to have a balance between sport and studying." (Facebook profile, 02 Oct 2023; paralympic.ca, 15 Feb 2023; globalnews.ca, 08 Sep 2021)

Sporting Relatives: Her father Andre was an ice hockey goaltender in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in Canada. (paralympic.ca, 01 Sep 2016)