Canadian Paralympic swimmer Aurélie Rivard has been honored by her home town of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu with the renaming of one of their pools in her honor.
The swimming pool at the Claude-Raymond Sports Complex will now be known as the Aurélie-Rivard Pool. The town of about 100,000 residents sits about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Montreal. The pool is a 25 meter pool.
According to a report by the Montreal Gazette, Rivard had heard rumors that the pool was going to be named after her, but her mom confirmed the news to her about a month ago when she came home.
“It’s surely the greatest honour that anyone can give me,” added the 28-year-old swimmer. “It is an honour that will last a lifetime. My records are bound to be broken. In addition, it is linked to very personal emotions. My family accompanied me here; This is where I met my first coaches.
“This pool is pretty much my entire youth. I learned to swim here and it was during free time that I was spotted by a coach from the local club. It’s sports studies, doing my homework here. I spent my entire adolescence in this swimming pool.”
Rivard, 28, competes in the S10 category. She won gold in the 400 free, silver in the 100 free, and bronze in the 50 free at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, growing her career total to 13 Paralympic medals – including 6 gold.
Rivard was also instrumental in the movement to get Canadian Parlaympians prize money for their Paralympic achievements on par with Canadian Olympians.
Rivard was born with an underdeveloped left hand.
- Read an interview about Rivard being bullied because of her hand when she was young.
Rivard has discussed the idea of retirement after the Paris Olympics, just as she did after the Tokyo Games, but has not committed to the idea one way or the other.
