Eighteen months ago, Raben Dommann‘s life was flipped upside down.
Having won two medals at the 2023 Pan Am Games and represented Canada at the 2024 World Championships in Doha less than a year earlier, he’d be one of the last people you’d expect to suffer a stroke. But that’s what happened on January 31, 2025.
Twenty-three at the time, Dommann’s stroke was caused by a congenital heart defect. He underwent heart surgery last May to correct it.
Initially, swimming was the furthest thing from his mind. He just wanted to be able to do everyday tasks again.
“When I first suffered the stroke, I wasn’t even sure that I would be able to walk properly again,” Dommann told SwimSwam. “However, over the following months I started to believe that it may be possible to get back to training and competing again.”
He resumed training in the fall, beginning his fourth year at the University of British Columbia. It was a slow process with no shortage of challenges.
“Last year I was essentially out of proper training from January until September, with strict limits on volume and intensity, both in the pool and the weight room,” Dommann said. “I started back with the group in early September, progressively building up to full volume.”
However, Dommann is still dealing with persistent atrial fibrillation—a condition that causes irregular and skipped heartbeats—which made consistent training and competing more difficult.
“The doctors have cleared me to train, which I am grateful for,” he said. “To control the atrial fibrillation, I take heart-rhythm medication that helps manage the symptoms, but that lowers my heart rate and increases fatigue, which adds another challenge to training. I may need another procedure on my heart to help with the atrial fibrillation, and I am discussing with my doctors to see whether it can be done during a training break.”
Despite dealing with a new set of circumstances, it didn’t take long for him to get back into competitive form. Though he wasn’t so sure initially.
“I did have doubts about getting back to top form, especially once I was back to training full time with the group in September, since I was clearly quite far behind in terms of fitness and strength. But deep down, I never fully let go of the belief that I could get back to where I was. The nice thing about swimming is that hard work pays off, and over the next few months, me and my coaches put in a lot of work to rebuild my base.”
At the 2025 Canada West Championships (SCM) in November, Dommann won three gold medals and three silver medals for UBC, setting personal best times in the 50 back (24.43), 100 back (52.25) and 200 fly (2:00.26).
He followed that up with an incredible showing at the 2026 U SPORTS Swimming Championships in March, setting lifetime bests (SCM) in every event he raced. He won silver in the 100 back (50.68) and 200 back (1:53.73), bronze in the 50 back (23.74), finished fourth in the 200 free (1:45.63), and added a pair of relay gold medals as UBC cruised to the team title.
Raben Dommann. Photo: Daniel Harrison/Swimming Canada
“I really started believing that I could get back to top form after U SPORTS, when I was putting up short course best times,” Dommann said. “After U SPORTS, I felt as though my training started to really take off, partly due to having rebuilt a solid training base, and partly due to increased confidence that we may actually be able to pull off qualifying for the Pan Pacs team.”
By the time last week’s Trials rolled around, rather than focusing on making the team, Dommann stayed in his lane and zeroed in on his own process, trusting the rest would take care of itself.
“Heading into Trials, my goal wasn’t necessarily to qualify for the team, but rather to see how many best times I could hit,” he said. “I felt that a best time, after everything I have been through, would be the ultimate accomplishment. I knew that if my only goal was to qualify for Pan Pacs, and I missed selection because my competitors had great races, I would be setting myself up for disappointment, even if I swam a best time. I chose to focus on my own preparation and actions, and being better than previous versions of myself despite the challenges that I was facing.
“I knew that I was in a position to challenge my best times, but being able to do it and actually doing it are two different things. I think that my change in perspective over the past 18 months is what allowed me to reach these goals.”
Dommann kicked the competition off with a bang, setting a personal best time of 53.79 in the final of the men’s 100 back to earn a runner-up finish and get under the qualifying standard. The swim improved on his previous best of 53.90, set in July 2024.
He carried that momentum into the rest of the meet, also placing 2nd in the 100 fly in a new lifetime best of 52.57, while also cracking the ‘A’ final in the 50 back (25.64), 200 back (2:01.14) and 50 fly (24.38). He set new personal bests in all but the 200 back.
He was officially named to Canada’s Pan Pac team after the Trials concluded on Sunday, a remarkable turnaround given it came less than a year after he returned to training and 18 months after the stroke.
Raben Dommann. Photo: Daniel Harrison/Swimming Canada
Attempting to express what it means to him to have made the team, Dommann said: “Representing Canada on the international stage has always been the highlight of my career, so having the opportunity to do so again at Pan Pacs this summer is very special for me.
“Eighteen months ago, I didn’t know if I would walk properly again, let alone swim and compete again. That makes it difficult to put into words what making this team means to me.
“I am grateful that I am able to continue doing what I love, and with so many friends on the team this summer, I am sure that it will be a fun competition. I am also very grateful to my coaches for believing in me and helping me with adapted training during my return to sport. I am still struggling to wrap my head around the fact that I am back on the national team this soon and swimming lifetime bests after everything that has happened. I almost can’t believe we actually pulled it off.”
The 2026 Pan Pacific Championships are scheduled to run from August 12-15 in Irvine, California.
Dommann is simply looking forward to taking it all in and enjoying the process. He lived in Australia for three years when he first started swimming as a kid, so the fact that the meet is outdoors is a nice reminder of how his career in the pool started.
“My goal for Pan Pacs is to enjoy representing Canada and to never take it for granted again. I know that I am back in good form, so I will let the racing take care of itself and enjoy the process with my teammates and coaches. I started my swimming career in Australia, where all the competitions were outside in the sun, so this will be a nice reminder of how it all started for me.”
The 25-year-old doesn’t know exactly how long he’ll continue racing, but after everything he’s experienced, he no longer feels the need to map out every step.
“Beyond Pan Pacs, I will take it day by day. As long as my heart is still in it, physically and emotionally, I will continue to push to see what I am capable of,” he said.
The stroke early last year fundamentally changed the way he approaches both swimming and life.
“Before the stroke, I was very performance-focused, trying to control every aspect of my life and tailoring it all around perfecting training and racing. Since the stroke, however, I have realized the importance of being present in every moment and finding joy in day-to-day life. I realize now that there is a balance between optimizing everything for performance, and actually finding joy in the process.
“I think that going through something like this changes you no matter what, but I do believe I have a say in whether that change is for the better or worse. Choosing to let it change me for the better is a conscious decision that I have to make every morning.
“More than anything, I am incredibly grateful for everything I have been through and where it has brought me. Despite how difficult it has been, I don’t think I would change any of it.”
Speaks volumes about the health and stamina of competitive athletes (especially swimmers) and their ability to comeback from adversity in relatively short order. Great story. Thanks for sharing!
From not being sure if he’d walk again to making the senior national team again! Bravo…. Simply stellar result. Best is yet to come feels like