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, 9 of which were born in Canada. This makes Canada the birth place of the 14th most number of Swimmers behind France, and Denmark.

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 49.62, George Hodgson is the most famous Canadian Swimmer.  His biography has been translated into 22 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 42.52, George Vernot is the 2nd most famous Canadian Swimmer.  His biography has been translated into 15 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 Sylvie Fréchette

3. Sylvie Fréchette (b. 1967)

With an HPI of 37.54, Sylvie Fréchette is the 3rd 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

4. Carolyn Waldo (b. 1964)

With an HPI of 32.90, Carolyn Waldo is the 4th most famous Canadian Swimmer.  Her biography has been translated into 20 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 Anne Ottenbrite

5. Anne Ottenbrite (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 29.83, Anne Ottenbrite is the 5th most famous Canadian Swimmer.  Her biography has been translated into 17 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 Alexandre Despatie

6. Alexandre Despatie (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 29.08, Alexandre Despatie is the 6th most famous Canadian Swimmer.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Alexandre Despatie (French: [alɛksɑ̃dʁ depati]; born June 8, 1985) OLY 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 Brent Hayden

7. Brent Hayden (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 28.51, Brent Hayden is the 7th most famous Canadian Swimmer.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Brent Matthew Hayden (born October 21, 1983) is a Canadian retired competitive swimmer. Representing Canada for a decade, Hayden is regarded as the fastest swimmer in Canadian history. Hayden won a bronze medal in the 100 m freestyle at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London with a time of 47.80, and was world champion in the same event in 2007 with Filippo Magnini of Italy. By winning the 100 metre, Hayden became the first Canadian in 21 years to win a gold medal at the World Aquatics Championships, and was also the first Canadian to appear in the 100 metre final at the Olympics since Dick Pound at the 1960 Summer Olympics, and the first Canadian to win an Olympic medal in the 100 metre. Hayden added a further three silver and one bronze medal to his World Championship totals. Hayden is currently the Canadian record-holder in the 200 metre and 100 metre in both the short-course and long-course. He has also held the world record in the 4×100 metre medley relay, and the 4×200 metre freestyle relay. Initially retiring after the London Olympics, Hayden returned to the pool seven years later to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Photo of Mark Tewksbury

8. Mark Tewksbury (b. 1968)

With an HPI of 26.09, Mark Tewksbury is the 8th most famous Canadian Swimmer.  His biography has been translated into 17 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."

Photo of Kylie Masse

9. Kylie Masse (b. 1996)

With an HPI of 22.24, Kylie Masse is the 9th most famous Canadian Swimmer.  Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Kylie Jacqueline Masse (born January 18, 1996) is a Canadian competitive swimmer. A noted backstroke specialist, she is a five-time Olympic medallist, three-time World Aquatics champion, three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, and the 2018 Pan Pacific champion in the 100 metre backstroke. She is currently the captain for the Toronto Titans of the International Swimming League. After early success swimming at the university level, Masse had a breakout appearance at the 2016 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the 100 metre backstroke. Her victory in the same event at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships saw her become the first Canadian woman to win a swimming world title, in the process breaking an eight-year-old world record. She subsequently became the first Canadian woman to defend her world title at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships. She would win a third World Aquatics title, this time in the 50 metre event, in 2022. After collecting three medals at the 2020 Summer Olympics, her bronze medal in the 200 metre backstroke at the 2024 Summer Olympics made her the first Canadian swimmer to medal in three consecutive Olympic Games.

Photo of Ryan Cochrane

10. Ryan Cochrane (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 20.41, Ryan Cochrane is the 10th most famous Canadian Swimmer.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Ryan Andrew Cochrane (born October 29, 1988) is a retired Canadian competitive swimmer who specialised in freestyle distance events. Cochrane is an Olympic silver and bronze medallist as well as a triple gold medallist from the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. He is also a four-time Commonwealth Games champion in the 400-metre and 1,500-metre having won both medals in 2010 and 2014. He holds six world championship medals from the 800-metre and 1500-metre, this also makes Cochrane Canada's all-time leading medallist for a swimmer at the World Aquatics Championships. Cochrane also won gold medals in the 400 and 1,500 m freestyle at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, as well as a bronze in the 4 x 200 m freestyle at the 2015 Games. From the year 2008 - 2015, Cochrane was named the Canadian male swimmer of the year - winning the award 8 times in a row.

People

Pantheon has 44 people classified as Canadian swimmers born between 1893 and 2006. Of these 44, 42 (95.45%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Canadian swimmers include Sylvie Fréchette, Carolyn Waldo, and Anne Ottenbrite. The most famous deceased Canadian swimmers include George Hodgson, and George Vernot. As of April 2024, 35 new Canadian swimmers have been added to Pantheon including George Vernot, Sylvie Fréchette, and Anne Ottenbrite.

Living Canadian Swimmers

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Deceased Canadian Swimmers

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Newly Added Canadian Swimmers (2024)

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