OTTAWA – National team co-captain Martha McCabe has wasted no time making plans following the conclusion of her second Olympic Games.

The 27-year-old breaststroke star, who just celebrated her birthday yesterday, has been busy planning Martha’s Canadian Drive, a 23-day tour across 26 cities spanning from Victoria, B.C., to Toronto, Ont.

During her time on the road, McCabe will be making stops at various pools and recreation centres, offering motivational speeches and in-water stroke clinics to local swim clubs. Her goal is to inspire young athletes, just as she was once inspired.

“All Olympians start from somewhere,” McCabe said. “I am driving across Canada to share my journey from club swimming to international and Olympic success.”

McCabe is also bringing two of her international medals along for the ride: a silver from the 2015 Pan Am Games and a bronze from the 2011 FINA World Championships, both of which were attained in the 200-m breaststroke.

One of the overarching themes to McCabe’s tour deals with overcoming adversity and hardships, insisting that the journey to the Olympic Games is anything but easy.

“I want to get across that Olympians are human too, and we all go through rough patches in our careers,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean that good things can’t come out of that, and sometimes you can be more successful than you could have ever imagined.”

McCabe will be partnering with Fuelling Women Champions during her journey, a program run by Canada’s Dairy Farmers that aims to get more girls and women involved in sport. They provide financial support to female athletes and spread positive messages about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, since there is a staggering drop off of women’s participation in sport as they age.

Instilling these messages in the next generation of Canadian swimmers is a great way to promote long-term involvement in a sport environment, all the while learning, growing and having fun.

McCabe starts her drive on Aug. 30 and finishes up on Sept. 21. For more information regarding her tour schedule and clinic options, visit her website at http://www.marthamccabe.ca/drive/.