1 www.natation.ca TABLE OF CONTENT TABLE DES MATIÈRES THE SPORT OF SWIMMING / LE SPORT DE LA NATATION Origins of the Paralympic Games/ p.5 Origines des Jeux Paralympiques The Sport / Le Sport p.7 SWIMMING CANADA / NATATION CANADA About Swimming Canada / p.13 À propos de Natation Canada The Sport of Swimming Vision / Mission Laymans Guide to Classification / Guide d’interprétation des classifications à l’intention du profane p.17 Le sport de la natation BIOGRAPHY / BIOGRAPHIE Women’s Bios / Biographie des femmes p.23 Men’s Bios / Biographie des hommes p.57 Coaches / Entraîneurs p.71 Staff / Personnel Media Contact / Contact pour les médias p.77 STATISTICS / STATISTIQUES Canadian Records / Records canadiens World Records / Records du monde p.81 Medals won at the Paralympic Games / p.130 Médailles remportées aux Jeux Paralympiques SCHEDULE / HORAIRE Competition Schedule & Who to watch / Horaire des épreuves p.133 www.swimming.ca 2 3 Paralympics Profile History of the Paralympics The Paralympic movement began back in 1948 when Sir Ludwig Guttman organized a sports competition involving World War II veterans with a spinal cord injury in Stoke, Mandeville, England. In 1952, the Netherlands joined the competition and an international movement was born. The very first Olympic style Games for athletes with a disability were organized in Rome in 1960. In Toronto in 1976, other disability groups, other than spinal cord injuries, were added and the idea of merging various disability groups for international sport competitions began. In the same year, the first Paralympic Winter Games took place in Sweden. Today, the Paralympics are elite sport events for athletes from six different disability groups. They emphasize, however, the participants’ athletic achievements rather than their disability. The movement has grown dramatically since its first days. The number of athletes participating in Summer Paralympic Games has increased from 400 athletes from 23 countries in Rome in 1960 to 3806 athletes from 136 countries in Athens in 2004. The Paralympic Games have always been held in the same year as the Olympic Games. Since the Seoul 1988 Paralympic Games and the Albertville 1992 Winter Par- alympic Games they have also taken place at the same venues as the Olympics. On 19 June 2001, an agreement was signed between IOC and IPC securing this practice for the future. From the 2012 bid process onwards, the host city chosen to host the Olympic Games will be obliged to also host the Paralympics. 4 5 www.natation.ca Portrait paralympique The Sport of Swimming The Racing Course Histoire des Jeux paralympiques The length of a long course racing pool is 50 metres. The pool has eight lanes and each lane is 2.5 metres wide. The water temperature must be kept at 26 degrees Le mouvement paralympique a débuté en 1948 quand Sir Ludwig Guttman a or- Celsius. ganisé une compétition sportive pour les vétérans de la Deuxième Guerre mondial ayant une blessure à la moelle épinière à Stoke, Mandeville, en Angleterre. En 1952, The Meet les Pays-Bas se sont joints à la compétition et un mouvement international est né. There are normally 13 individual events and three relays for men and women in a Les tout premiers Jeux de style olympique pour les athlètes ayant un handicap ont swim meet. été organisés à Rome en 1960. À Toronto, en 1976, d’autres groupes de handicap, autres que des blessures à la moelle épinière, ont été ajoutés et l’idée de fusionner Freestyle Events différents groupes de handicaps pour des compétitions sportives internationales In the freestyle, the competitor may swim any stroke he or she wishes. The usual a débuté. La même année, les premiers Jeux paralympiques d’hiver ont eu lieu en stroke used is the front crawl. This stroke is characterized by the alternate overhand Suède. motion of the arms. The freestyle is swum over 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1500 metre distances. Aujourd’hui, les Jeux paralympiques sont des épreuves sportives d’élite pour les athlètes de six groupes différents de handicaps. Ils mettent toutefois l’emphase sur Backstroke Events les succès sportifs des participants plutôt que sur leur handicap. Le mouvement a In the backstroke, the swimmer must stay on his or her back at all times. The stroke énormément grandi depuis ses premiers jours. Le nombre d’athlètes participants is an alternating motion of the arms. At each turn a swimmer must touch the wall with aux Jeux paralympiques d’été a augmenté, passant de 400 athlètes de 23 pays à some part of the body. Rome en 1960 à 3806 athlètes de 136 pays à Athènes en 2004. Swimmers must surface within 15 metres after the start and each turn. Backstroke Les Jeux paralympiques ont toujours eu lieu la même année que les Jeux olympiques. race distances are 100 and 200 metres. Depuis les Jeux paralympiques de Séoul en 1988 et les Jeux paralympiques d’hiver d’Albertville en 1992, ils ont aussi eu lieu dans les mêmes installations que les Jeux Breaststroke Events olympiques. Le 19 juin 2001, une entente a été signée entre le CIO et le CIP assurant Perhaps one of the most difficult strokes to master, the breaststroke requires simulta- cette pratique pour l’avenir. À partir de la procédure de candidature pour 2012, neous movements of the arms on the same horizontal plane. The hands are pushed la ville hôtesse choisie pour présenter les Jeux olympiques sera aussi obligée de forward from the breast on or under the surface of the water and brought backward in présenter les Jeux paralympiques. the propulsive stage of the stroke simultaneously. The kick is a simultaneous thrust of the legs called a frog or breaststroke kick. No flut- ter or dolphin kicking is allowed. At each turn a swimmer must touch with both hands at the same time. Breaststroke races are distances of 100 and 200 metres. www.swimming.ca 6 7 www.natation.ca Butterfly Events Strategies The most physically demanding stroke, the butterfly features the simultaneous The sprint races (50 and 100 metres) are an all-out burst of speed from start to finish. overhead stroke of the arms combined with the dolphin kick. The dolphin kick The slightest mistake can cost precious hundredths of seconds -and the race. features both legs moving up and down together. No flutter kicking is allowed. The 200 metre events require the swimmer to have a sense of pace as well as the ability to swim in a controlled speed. The butterfly was born in the early 1950s due to a loophole in the breaststroke rules and became an Olympic event in Melbourne, Australia in 1965. Butterfly races are The 400, 800 and 1500 metre freestyle require the swimmer to constantly be aware swum in 100 and 200 metre distances. of where they are in the water and how tired they are becoming. Swimming the first portion of the race at too fast of a pace can sap a swimmers strength and cause a Individual Medley poor finish. Swimming the first portion of the race too slowly can separate the swim- The individual medley, commonly referred to as the I.M., features all four competitive mer from the pack and make catching up impossible. strokes. In the I.M., a swimmer begins with the butterfly, changes to the backstroke after one-fourth of the race, then the breaststroke for another quarter and finally There are two ways to swim a distance race. Swimmers may elect to swim the race finishes with the freestyle. The I.M. is swum in 200 and 400 metre distances. evenly (holding the same pace throughout the race) or they may negative split the race. A negative split occurs when the swimmer covers the second half of a race Medley Relay faster than the first half. In the medley relay all four strokes are swum by four different swimmers. No swim- mer may swim more than one leg of the relay, which is swum in backstroke, breast- stroke, butterfly and freestyle order. The medley relay is 400 metres -or four by 100 metres. Starts and Turns Many races are won or lost in starts and turns. In the start, the swimmer is called to the starting position by the starter who visually checks that all swimmers are still. Then, once the starter is satisfied, the race is started by either a gun or electronic tone. Quick turns are essential to a good race. In all events the swimmer must touch the wall, but in the freestyle and backstroke the swimmer may somersault as he or she reaches the wall, touching only with the feet. In the other two competitive strokes, the swimmer must touch the wall with both hands before executing the turn. www.swimming.ca 8 9 www.natation.ca Le Sport de natation Épreuves de papillon Style le plus spectaculaire et le plus exigeant physiquement, le papillon se reconnaît à Longueur du bassin un mouvement aérien simultané des bras combiné au battement du dauphin. Pour le Les compétitions en parcours long se font dans un bassin de 50 mètres. La piscine battement du dauphin, le nageur bouge les jambes en même temps de haut en bas, comporte huit couloirs et chaque couloir doit avoir 2,5 mètres de large. La tempéra- dans un mouvement ondulatoire. Le battement de jambes du crawl n’est pas permis. ture de l’eau doit être à 26 degrés Celsius. Les épreuves de papillon se déroulent sur les distances de 100 et 200 mètres. La compétition Quatre-nages individuel Une compétition de natation comprend normalement 13 épreuves individuelles et L’épreuve du quatre-nages individuel, que tous appellent le I.M.