Category : Swimmer Name: Anne Ottenbrite Club: Ajax Aquatic Club Coach(es): Paul Meronen

HIGHLIGHTS

1984 Olympic Games, Los Angeles, United States, Gold 200m Breaststroke , 

Silver 100m Breaststroke , Bronze 4x100m Medley Relay

BIOGRAPHY

Anne is one of Canada’s swimming legends. Born May 12, 1966 in Bowmanville, Ontario, she began to swim at the age of age 3 in her backyard pool in Whitby, Ontario where she immediately started using whip kick. At the age of age 12, she was swimming with the Oshawa Swim Club. Her phenomenal flexibility allowed her to use an undulating upper-body movement in her stroke, long before it became the popular technique.

She joined the National Team in 1981 to later become Canada’s first-ever Olympic gold medalist in women’s swimming by capturing the gold in the 200m breaststroke at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. She also won an Olympic silver medal in the 100m breaststroke and a bronze medal in the 4×100 medley relay.

Prior to the Olympics, Anne captured  asilver medal in the 100m breaststroke and a bronze medal in 200m breaststroke at the 1982 World Championships in Guayaquil. She also won two gold medals in the 200m breaststroke and 4×100 medley relay and a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke at the 1982 Commonwealth Games.The following year, Anne won a gold medal in the 100m breaststroke and a silver medal in th e4x100 medley relay at the Pan American Games in Caracas. Anne earned 8 national titles and is inducted in Swimming Canada’s Circle of Excellence.

In 1982 and 1983, Anne was named Female Swimmer of the year by Swimming Canada and was awarded the Order of Canada in1984. One year later, Anne was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame. Following her retirement in 1986, she was inducted into the Canadian Aquatic Hall of Fame in 1992 and into the International Swim Hall of Fame in 1999.

After retiring from competitive swimming, Anne decided to pursue a coaching career. She is a graduate of the University of Southern California (1984-1986) and Wilfred Laurier University in Ontario (1987-1990). Among her achievements, she traveled to Zimbabwe to promote the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) at the1991 Prime minister’s Conference, was named Honorary Team Captain at the 1994 Commonwealth Games and was appointed Team Manager for the 1995 Pan-PacificGames in Atlanta. Anne is currently the Head Age Group Swim Coach at the Pickering Swim Club, and an honorary ambassador and mentor of youth swimmers. She started her coaching career as the Head Coach for Wilfrid Laurier University’s varsity swim team, to transfer to Region of Waterloo Swim Club,then to Guelph Marlin Aquatic Club, the Burlington Aquatic Devil Rays and at the University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire.

Anne is Swimming Canada’s representative on the Canadian Olympic Committee. Married and mother to a son, Anne is also a strong advocate for new pools and infrastructure within the Durham Region. She has the privilege to have a pool named after her in Whitby, Ontario.