Hilary’s Bio

• At her second Olympic Games in 2016, Caldwell won a bronze medal in the 200-m backstroke. She finished behind American Maya DiRado and Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu in Rio to earn her first Olympic medal.
• At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Caldwell finished fifth in the 200-m backstroke.
• At the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest, Caldwell finished sixth in the 200-m backstroke and 12^th in the 100 back.
• At the 2017 Canadian Swimming Trials in Victoria, Caldwell qualified for her third FINA World Championships by winning two silver medals in the 100-m and 200-m backstroke events behind Kylie Masse.
• At the 2016 FINA World Swimming Championships (25-m) in Windsor, Ont. Caldwell’s best event was the 200-m backstroke where she finished in 4^th. Caldwell also competed in the 50-m backstroke (28^th) and the 100-m backstroke (18^th). Her 100-m backstroke was in a personal best time of 57.84.
• At the same competition, Caldwell swam during the prelims of the 4×100-m medley relay that later won a silver medal.
• At the 2016 Olympic & Para-swimming Trials in Toronto, Caldwell finished first in 200-m backstroke, her strongest event, to punch her ticket to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
• At the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games, Caldwell earned herself a gold medal in the 200-m backstroke. She got to stand beside fellow Canadian Dominique Bouchard (silver) as the national anthem played in Toronto. Her time set a Pan American Games record.
• At the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia, she earned herself a seventh-place finish in the 200-m backstroke. She also made the semifinals of the 100-m backstroke where she placed 12^th.
• Caldwell’s 2015 achievements are even more impressive considering the difficult year she and her teammates faced due to the death of High Performance Centre – Victoria head coach Randy Bennett in April.
• She took bronze in the 200-m backstroke at 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
• She went on to swim two finals at Pan Pacific Championships in Australia, finishing fifth in the 200-m backstroke and sixth in the 100.
• In 2013, she made waves by winning a bronze medal in the 200-m backstroke at the 2013 FINA World Championships, lowering the Canadian record in each of the three rounds
• Following the worlds Caldwell lowered the national short-course record in the 200 back at the FINA World Cup circuit.
• Her performance earned Caldwell a Swimming Canada Big Splash Award as the OMEGA Female Swimmer of the Year for 2013.
• In 2013, Caldwell won Swimming Canada’s Female Swimmer of the Year.
• Caldwell finished second to Sinead Russell at the Olympic Trials in Montreal, earning a spot on Canada’s team heading to the 2012 Games. She finished 18th in London.
• Originally from London, Ont., Caldwell grew up in White Rock, B.C., where she began to swim competitively.
• Caldwell studied French at the University of Victoria. Her seven tattoos makes her the most inked member of the national swim team.
• She moved to Victoria in 2009 to train at the Swimming Canada High Performance Centre – Victoria
• Caldwell’s international breakthrough came at the 2011 World University Games where she won silver in the 200 back.

Quick Facts

• Twitter: @hilcaldwell
• Instagram: @hilcaldwell
• Favourite TV Show: Friends, Downton Abbey, Top Gear
• Favourite band: Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Favourite place to visit: Morocco
• Guilty pleasure: Reading teen fiction