CALGARY – After competing against the world's best at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games later this month, Rebecca Smith will return to her home province for the next stage of her swimming career.

Smith, one of 26 swimmers to be nominated for Tokyo 2020 by Swimming Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee, has committed to the University of Calgary Dinos swim team and enrolled in the Faculty of Nursing.
 
"We are very excited to have Rebecca joining the Dinos after her performances at the Tokyo Olympics," said Dinos swimming head coach Mike Blondal. "We are looking forward to being part of her swimming career as she resumes her education after this extended run at the Olympics and representing Canada."
 
A native of Red Deer, Alta., Smith broke onto the international stage in 2015, earning silver and bronze medals in the 4×100-metre and 4×200-metre freestyle relays at the FINA World Junior Championships. Two years later at the 2017 FINA World Junior Championships, she won gold medals in 4×100-metre and 4×200-metre freestyle relays, while capturing a pair of individual medals with silver in the 100-metre butterfly and bronze in the 50-metre butterfly.
 
Smith has been a key member of Canadian relay teams since making her senior national team debut in 2017. At the 2017 FINA World Championships, Smith contributed to a bronze-medal win in the mixed 4x100-metre medley relay after she swam the butterfly leg of the preliminaries. Since then, she has won a silver medal as a member of the 4x200-metre freestyle relay team at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, a pair of bronze medals with the 4x100-metre and 4x200-metre freestyle relay teams at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships, and three bronze medals from the 4x100-metre medley, 4x100-metre, and 4x200-metre freestyle relays at the 2019 FINA World Championships.
 
Blondal says Smith's experience on the international stage will be a valuable asset for the Dinos.
 
"As we return to varsity competition and start the Paris 2024 Olympic cycle this fall, we are looking forward to the strong international background Rebecca can bring to our group and her experience training at the highest level."
 
Smith moved to Toronto for Grades 11 and 12 to train at Swimming Canada's High Performance Centre. She later enrolled at the University of Toronto where she competed in her only varsity season in 2018-19. At the 2019 U SPORTS Swimming Championships, Smith was named the national female rookie of the year, following first-place finishes in the 50-metre butterfly, 100-metre butterfly, and the 200-metre freestyle. She was also named the University of Toronto female rookie of the year for 2019.
 
The 2021 Canada West Swimming Championships will be hosted by the University of Alberta from Nov. 26-28, while Université Laval will welcome the country's best to the 2022 U SPORTS Swimming Championships on Feb. 25-27.

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