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Rivard’s road to success in Tokyo goes through change

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For a large majority of athletes, a five-medal haul, including two gold, in a single edition of the world championships would be considered a success, if not the culmination of a career.

This was not, however, Aurélie Rivard’s analysis at the conclusion of the 2019 Para swimming worlds.

“London 2019, despite what people think, I thought it was one of my worst competitions,” says Rivard. “Sure, I won medals, but the races, my performance were not to my liking. I wasn’t ready physically and mentally, I had no confidence in myself. It was like I was showing up for my races thinking, ‘Let’s hope for the best’.

“I didn’t really know what to expect, and I hated that feeling. I didn’t want to feel the same way in Tokyo.”

It is true that in terms of performance, the native of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., has set the bar pretty high since the start of her brilliant career.

In 2012, at the age of 16, she claimed a silver medal and reached five finals in her first Paralympic Games appearance. Four years later, she was one of the biggest stars in Rio, carrying the Canadian flag at the closing ceremony after reaching the podium on four occasions, including triumphs in the 50, 100 and 400-m freestyle S10.

Now 25, Rivard heads to Tokyo as the world record holder in all three events where she is set to defend a Paralympic title. She will be one of 19 Canadians in action during the swimming competition, which runs from Aug. 25 to Sept. 3.

Determined to put the experience of the last worlds behind her and to maximize her preparation for her third Games, she has made an impressive number of changes since the fall of 2019: new city, new club, new coach.

“I didn’t know the change would be so drastic. I completely changed the team around me, from A to Z,” explains Rivard, who moved to Quebec City in January 2020 to join the Club de Natation Région de Québec led by coach Marc-André Pelletier. “I didn’t want to have any regrets after Tokyo. I wanted to put the odds in my favor and feel like I had done everything I could.

“The High Performance Centre – Quebec in Montreal is amazing. We have all the resources, I get along with everyone. It’s kind of the best place to train in Quebec. But honestly, I was alone in the water, alone in my category. I needed to start training again with people who are as fast as me, people faster than me. I’m a very proud person, so that pushes me.”

According to Pelletier, who is part of the Canadian team coaching staff at Tokyo 2020, his new protégée needed to step out of her comfort zone.

“What motivates me is the pursuit of performance. When I have an athlete in front of me, I want to get the most out of that athlete. Aurélie, at her age and at the time she arrived with us, this is what she needed. She needed to be challenged.

“Aurélie is one level above the athletes in her category. She needed to train with a group of Olympic stream swimmers, who do not have disabilities. We have a swimmer in our group who missed the Olympic team by a few tenths of a second. When Aurélie trains with her, it raises the level. We need that in life. You need to push your limits. It’s like that in all sports.

To further illustrate his point, Pelletier uses a comparison with the swimmer who is considered by many to be the best of all time.

“Take Michael Phelps in 2008. The goal was not to win a gold medal, but to win eight.

“Aurélie has the opportunity to do more. Not just being a good athlete, but becoming an exceptional athlete. Will she take this opportunity and have no regrets? That’s the goal. This is what we want to get out of her.”

In addition to the many changes in her life since her last major international competition, Rivard has, of course, had to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The pandemic definitely affected us, like everyone else. It was an extremely difficult year that I wouldn’t want to relive,” she says. “But on the other hand, I had a lot of time to train and it showed.

“I did some thinking over the past year. In the past, I didn’t really take my post-career seriously. I decided to think about it a little more. I thought to myself, the day that competitive swimming is taken away from me, as it was this year, what do I do? I was looking to transfer my passion for swimming elsewhere. I started studying law at Laval University. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, and now the timing was ideal.”

Rivard adds that, in a strange way, the pandemic could give her a competitive advantage in Tokyo.

“Despite my track record, I feel a little like I’m the underdog because for the past two years no one has seen me swim. We had no competitions. On my end, I saw everything. European championships, national championships and Olympic qualifiers from lots of countries, I know exactly where most swimmers are in their preparation. I like being in that position. ”

One thing is for sure, the four-time Swimming Canada female Para swimmer of the year heads to the Japanese capital with peace of mind.

“I hope I’ll remember this if things don’t go as well as I want, but one thing that I’m sure of is I did everything I could to be the best version of myself as an athlete, to have the best possible performance. That, I’m sure of.”

For his part, Pelletier, who will coach his pupil for the first time at a major event, is eager to see how she’ll react.

“She has all the tools in her toolbox. Now it’s about how she handles the pressure. Right now, she’s very fast. Will she be able to deliver at the right time? We’ll do everything we can to make sure it happens.”