The Most Famous

SWIMMERS from Canada

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This page contains a list of the greatest Canadian Swimmers. The pantheon dataset contains 709 Swimmers, 45 of which were born in Canada. This makes Canada the birth place of the 10th most number of Swimmers behind Hungary, and France.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Canadian Swimmers of all time. This list of famous Canadian Swimmers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Canadian Swimmers.

Photo of George Hodgson

1. George Hodgson (1893 - 1983)

With an HPI of 57.75, George Hodgson is the most famous Canadian Swimmer.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages on wikipedia.

George Ritchie Hodgson (October 12, 1893 – May 1, 1983) was a Canadian competition swimmer of the early 20th century, and considered by many to be the greatest swimmer in Canadian history. Hodgson won the two longer freestyle swimming gold medals at the 1912 Olympics, the only categories in which he competed. He also competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics.

Photo of George Vernot

2. George Vernot (1901 - 1962)

With an HPI of 56.50, George Vernot is the 2nd most famous Canadian Swimmer.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

George Edward Vernot (February 27, 1901 – November 22, 1962) was a Canadian freestyle swimmer who competed at the 1920 and 1924 Olympics. At the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Vernot won a silver medal in the 1500-metre freestyle, and a bronze medal in the 400-metre event. He also competed in the 100-metre freestyle but placed third in his semifinal and did not advance. At the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, he was seventh in the 400-metre freestyle, and eighth in the 1500-metre freestyle. Nationally, Vernot won the Canadian championships in the 100-, 220-, and 440-yard freestyle in 1919 and 220- and 440-yard in 1920. In 1926, he graduated in civil engineering from McGill University and retired from athletic competitions. He then worked for the City of Montreal, becoming chairman of the Board of Assessors in 1948. In 1969, a park in Montreal was named in his honor.

Photo of Anne Ottenbrite

3. Anne Ottenbrite (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 47.05, Anne Ottenbrite is the 3rd most famous Canadian Swimmer.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Anne Ottenbrite (born May 12, 1966) is a Canadian former breaststroke swimmer, who won three medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles: gold (200-metre breaststroke), silver (100-metre breaststroke), and bronze (4×100-metre medley relay). In the last event she was accompanied by Reema Abdo, Michelle MacPherson and Pamela Rai. Ottenbrite attended the University of Southern California, and swam or the USC Trojans swimming and diving team.

Photo of Sylvie Fréchette

4. Sylvie Fréchette (b. 1967)

With an HPI of 46.55, Sylvie Fréchette is the 4th most famous Canadian Swimmer.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Sylvie Fréchette, (born 27 June 1967 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian former synchronised swimmer. She is the 1992 Olympic champion in the women's solo event.

Photo of Carolyn Waldo

5. Carolyn Waldo (b. 1964)

With an HPI of 44.54, Carolyn Waldo is the 5th most famous Canadian Swimmer.  Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Carolyn Jane Waldo, (born December 11, 1964, in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian former synchronized swimmer and broadcaster. Waldo is best known for winning two gold medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics, in the Women's Solo and in the Women's Duet with Michelle Cameron. Waldo won at the 1985 Rome and Spanish Opens, 1985 FINA World Cup, 1986 Spanish Open, 1986 Commonwealth Games, 1986 World Championships, 1987 Pan Pacific Championships and the 1987 FINA World Cup. Waldo won a silver medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Waldo won the Olympic title in the solo and duet competitions at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, making her the Canadian female to win two gold medals at one Olympic Games. An Officer of the Order of Canada, a four-time winner of the Velma Springstead Trophy, Waldo retired in 1988 and worked as a sportscaster for the television station CJOH in Ottawa, Ontario, until being laid off on November 17, 2015. During her competitive career, she was sponsored by Sears Canada.

Photo of Christine Larsen

6. Christine Larsen (b. 1967)

With an HPI of 39.88, Christine Larsen is the 6th most famous Canadian Swimmer.  Her biography has been translated into 14 different languages.

Christine Larsen (born December 15, 1967) is a Canadian competitor in synchronized swimming and Olympic medalist. She competed for Canada and received a silver medal in synchronized team swimming at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Larsen is the sister of sportscaster and fellow Olympian Karin Larsen, who covered Larsen's medal-winning performance for CBC News.

Photo of Alexandre Despatie

7. Alexandre Despatie (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 39.84, Alexandre Despatie is the 7th most famous Canadian Swimmer.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Alexandre Despatie (French: [alɛksɑ̃dʁ depati]; born June 8, 1985) is a Canadian diver and broadcaster from Laval, Quebec. He was the world champion at the 1 and 3 m springboards from 2005 to 2007 and is the first, and so far only, diver to have been world champion in all three individual categories (1, 3 and 10 m platform). He is also a 37-time Canadian senior diving champion and nine-time junior champion, and the most decorated male diver in Canadian history, winning two Olympic silver medals and reaching eight podiums at the world championships, including three gold medals. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Photo of Summer McIntosh

8. Summer McIntosh (b. 2006)

With an HPI of 39.20, Summer McIntosh is the 8th most famous Canadian Swimmer.  Her biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Summer Ann McIntosh (born August 18, 2006) is a Canadian competitive swimmer. She is a three-time Olympic champion, eight-time World Aquatics champion, and two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist. Noted for her strength in medley, freestyle and butterfly events, she is the world record holder in the 200 and 400 metre individual medley and 400 metre freestyle, and also holds the Olympic and textile records in the 200 metre butterfly event. In the short course pool, she is a four-time World Swimming Championships gold medallist and holds world records in the 400 metre freestyle, 200 metre butterfly, and 400 metre individual medley events. McIntosh first drew recognition when, at age 14, she was the youngest member of the Canadian team for the 2020 Summer Olympics, where she achieved a fourth-place finish in the 400 metre freestyle. The following year she became the youngest World Aquatics champion in swimming in over a decade, and the first Canadian to win two gold medals at a single World Championships, for which she was dubbed a "teen swimming sensation." In March and April 2023, in the span of five days, she set her first and second world records, in the 400 metre freestyle and 400 individual medley events, at the Canadian national trials. McIntosh's performance at the 2024 Summer Olympics, in which she won four individual medals (three gold and one silver), further increased her fame, with Time dubbing it the "Summer of Summer".

Photo of Michelle Cameron

9. Michelle Cameron (b. 1962)

With an HPI of 38.15, Michelle Cameron is the 9th most famous Canadian Swimmer.  Her biography has been translated into 14 different languages.

Michelle A. Cameron-Coulter, (born December 28, 1962, in Calgary, Alberta) is a retired Canadian Olympic synchronized swimmer, and former world champion.

Photo of Mark Tewksbury

10. Mark Tewksbury (b. 1968)

With an HPI of 38.07, Mark Tewksbury is the 10th most famous Canadian Swimmer.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Mark Roger Tewksbury, (born February 7, 1968) is a Canadian former competitive swimmer. He is best known for winning the gold medal in the 100-metre backstroke at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He also hosted the first season of How It's Made, a Canadian documentary series, in 2001. Tewksbury was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (Civil Division) in 1993 for being a "motivational speaker and a gifted athlete."

People

Pantheon has 50 people classified as Canadian swimmers born between 1893 and 2006. Of these 50, 48 (96.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Canadian swimmers include Anne Ottenbrite, Sylvie Fréchette, and Carolyn Waldo. The most famous deceased Canadian swimmers include George Hodgson, and George Vernot. As of April 2024, 6 new Canadian swimmers have been added to Pantheon including Christine Larsen, Michelle Cameron, and Karen Clark.

Living Canadian Swimmers

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Deceased Canadian Swimmers

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Newly Added Canadian Swimmers (2025)

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