Katerine Savard, a 2016 Olympic medalist and a mainstay on the Canadian National team for the last 15 years, announced her retirement from competitive swimming on Wednesday at the age of 31.
Savard, a three-time Olympian, missed out on qualifying for her fourth Games this past summer, and expressed uncertainty regarding her future in the sport after the Canadian Olympic Trials in May. She ended up swimming through the summer, winning three gold medals at the Canadian Championships in late July, which ultimately was her last competitive meet.
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Post translated from French:
To the sport that I loved so much
I made my name on the Canadian swim team back in October 2009 Fifteen years later, today is the day I retire him from competitive swimming 🙏🏼
After a decade and a half of representing my country, 3 Olympics and 34 medals in major championships, I thank this sport for allowing me to have all these great experiences.Thanks to my country, thanks to Natation Canada, thanks to the federation of swimming du Quebec, thanks to the club Unik, CNQ, CAMO and Carabins. Thanks to Marc-André Pelletier, Claude St-Jean, Greg Arkhurst and all the coaches who helped me become the swimmer I was. Thanks to INS, ESQL, all the foundations, agents, journalists and partners who supported me throughout this journey. Thanks to my friends and teammates who have accompanied me all these years. Thank you to all of you who have followed me on all these adventures.
Finally, thank you to my family who supported, helped and encouraged me to go through this long path filled with so many trials and achievements 🤍
Thanks to this sport that I loved so much
As noted in her post, Savard first qualified for the Canadian National Team in 2009, and went on to have a storied career that included three appearances at the Olympics and a total of 34 medals won at major international competitions.
Savard didn’t miss a major competition from 2010 until 2017, representing Canada at the London and Rio Olympics, four World Aquatics Championships (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017), four SC World Championships (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016), and two appearances at both the Commonwealth Games (2010, 2014) and Pan Pacific Championships (2010, 2014).
After missing out on the major meets in 2018 and 2019 (racing the Pan Ams instead of Worlds in 2019), Savard came back to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and also made more appearances at LC Worlds (2022, 2023, 2024), SC Worlds (2021, 2022), the Commonwealth Games (2022) and Pan Ams (2023) during the latter half of her career.
Her longevity at the highest level of the sport has been applauded by her peers and the Canadian swimming community at large.
“Katerine has always been a valuable member of our national swimming teams and deserves all the success she has achieved during her brilliant career,” said Swimming Canada High Performance Director and National Coach John Atkinson.
“In my eyes, her gold medal win at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and her Olympic medal are among the highlights of her journey with the national team. Katerine’s longevity with the national team is also due to her commitment to the sport. We know that this determination will always be a great quality of character as she embarks on the next phase of her career and life. We wish Katerine all the best and congratulate her on her swimming career.”
After making her Olympic debut in London at the age of 19, where she was a semi-finalist in the women’s 100 fly, Savard won a bronze medal at the 2016 Games in Rio, swimming the lead-off leg on the Canadian women’s 4×200 free relay team that also featured Taylor Ruck, Brittany Maclean and Penny Oleksiak.
Savard also made a semi-final appearance in Rio in the women’s 200 free, placing 15th. She returned to her roots, the 100 fly, in qualifying for her third straight Olympics in 2021, earning another semi-final appearance in Tokyo before placing 16th. She also swam a prelim leg on the women’s 4×200 free relay that ultimately finished fourth.
The Quebec native also owns four medals from the World Aquatics Championships, one silver and three bronzes from relays (two in 2022 and two in 2024), and has racked up nine SC World Championship medals during her career, including winning four world titles in the women’s 4×100 free relay (2021), 4×200 free relay (2016, 2021), and the mixed 4×50 free relay (2021).
She was also the 2014 Commonwealth champion in the women’s 100 fly, the 2013 World University Games champion in the 100 fly, and was a two-time gold medalist at the Pan Am Games on the Canadian relays.
In 2020, Savard starred in the movie Nadia, Butterfly, portraying a young swimmer, Nadia, who struggles to redefine her life after retiring from the sport after the 2020 Olympics.
Savard also works as an elementary school teacher and will be devoting her energy to passing on the knowledge now that she’s called it a career in the pool.
“I remember always wanting to be a teacher, long before I dreamed of becoming an athlete,” she told Swimming Canada. “I grew up playing the teacher, and today I’m happy to be able to fulfill that dream. What motivates me is helping my pupils to dream big.”
Savard, who broke the Canadian Record in the women’s 100 fly in 2014 and held the mark before it was broken by Oleksiak and eventually Maggie MacNeil, set the standard for Canadian women’s butterfliers.
Speaking with Swimming Canada, MacNeil recounted a time 10 years ago when her coach arranged her to come to Club Aquatique Montreal (CAMO) and train with Savard for a week.
“She was Canada’s top 100 butterflier and I was just trying to keep up, I was this little kid just tagging along,” said MacNeil, who also recently retired. “I saw her work ethic back then and it hasn’t changed since.”
“She was, and continues to be, one of my greatest inspirations. think she is the epitome of what it means to be a Canadian Olympian, and is a great role model for other up-and-comers and inspiring them to pursue their dreams. Hopefully these little kids that she’s going to teach will feel the same way.”
Knox should be swimming NCAA
The new administration is strongly discouraging ALL exports from Canada, although I’m not sure how a 25% tariff would be expressed in swimming terms.
Is he not already pro?
Bonne continuation Katerine!
She always represented Canada with such grace and class. Wonderful role model!
Bonne chance Katerine!
She wasn’t just a great swimmer, but an award-winning actress as well.
That’s not hyperbole or shade, y’all. The movie she was the star of, “Nadia, Butterfly”, has a score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and won at the 2020 Quebec City Film Festival and the Vancouver International Film Festival. It was due to be screened at Cannes if not for COVID. It was starring in this film that gave her the spark to come back to swimming.
Felicitations Katerine!
Kat broke onto the national swimming scene around the same time I was getting more involved with Swimming Canada – I can’t believe it has been 15 years. She has been a rock for our national team, and an inspiration to so many across the country.
Absolute legend. A storied and long career with amazing national and international success. She was part of the generation that helped give rise to what Canadian Women’s swimming is today. Bravo Katerine!
As a Canadian swim fan I really appreciate Katerine,s efforts.Always a clutch performer and with a big smile.Well done!!!