Rachel Nicol is going out a champion, but it’s not the medals or records she’ll remember most about her time as a swimmer.

“When I talk to people about swimming, the best thing that’s come out of it is the good relationships and the different people I’ve gotten to meet over the years,” says Nicol. “It’s a really great community and support system from swimming and that’s something I’ll always hold very dear.”

The 30-year-old from Lethbridge, Alta., who made her first national team in 2015, announced recently she’s calling it a career.

The breaststroke specialist is just three months removed from a gold medal at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. Her time of 1:07.28 was her fastest in more than six years. She also helped Canada to gold in the women’s 4×100-m medley relay at Pan Ams, which was her first senior international meet when Toronto hosted in 2015.

Nicol had been doing some training after Pan Ams but felt she just didn’t have the desire for the intensity of an Olympic year. Instead, she decided to go out on a high note as Pan Am champion and move into the next phase of her life.

“I’ve contemplated retiring for the last three years but none of those times really felt right. I still felt like I needed a bit of closure. I just wanted to finish things on the right footing,” Nicol says.

She recalls a 2021 conversation with five-time Olympic breaststroker Alia Atkinson of Jamaica, who retired that year.

“I was like, ‘How do you know?’ And she was like, ‘You’ll just know, you’ll get a feeling,’ ” Nicol recalls. “Before I kind of felt like retiring but didn’t really want to. Now with it being an Olympic year, I know what it feels like to want to do that preparation and put the time and energy into that to pursue it. It feels right. It’s comforting to know and I’ve sat with that for a little while.”

Nicol earned a bronze in the 100 and silver in the relay in her international debut at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games. Other national team highlights include finishing fifth in the 100-m breaststroke at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where she also helped set a Canadian record in the fifth-place medley relay. She added medley relay silver at the 2016 world short-course championships and bronze at the 2022 long-course worlds.

“I would like to congratulate Rachel on her swimming career. I remember Rachel racing at her first world championships in 2015 that took place in Kazan, Russia, and making an impact on the team, then most recently her successful performances at the 2023 Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile,” said High Performance Director and National Coach John Atkinson. “I wish Rachel all the best as she moves on from racing and I look forward to continuing to work with Rachel as a member of the Swimming Canada High Performance Athlete Advisory Council.”

“Those are great accomplishments. Doing great things in the pool is always a good thing and nothing to be understated, but I always approached swimming from a wholistic standpoint. You’re more than just a swimmer and I enjoyed all the pieces other than medals and records. It’s the experience and the people you meet along the way,” Nicol says.

For her it’s more about those moments with her Canadian teammates, or swimmers like Alia Atkinson. A 2017 moment with Icelandic swimmer Hilda Luthersdottir stands out in particular.

“We were in the lanes beside each other at worlds and it’s very serious. I think I was in Lane 8 or 7 and she comes up, taps me on the shoulder as I’m getting ready to get on the block and gives me a double high five, up and down. It was my best 50 breast ever – I dropped half a second and that was just a really cool moment. You’re in this serious sort of environment and she gives me this high five and boost of confidence, like, ‘This is fun. I’m here with my friends having a good time. Let’s go race.’

Nicol studied applied physiology and sport management in her Bachelor’s degree at Southern Methodist University in Texas before returning to Alberta, where she completed a Master’s in kinesiology at the University of Calgary. She’s working at TCR Sport Lab and Bike Shop in Calgary, doing a combination of coaching, personal training and physiology lab work. She’s also emerging as a leader in athlete advocacy, including roles on Swimming Canada’s High Performance Athlete Advisory Council and the Canadian Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission.

“I’ve found a passion in sport governance in Canada, I think that’s maybe the next step but I’m not sure if it’s going to come right away,” she says when asked about the future.

“I extend my congratulations to Rachel on her swimming career,” said Acting CEO Suzanne Paulins. “I have especially appreciated working with her over the last year on the High Performance Athlete Advisory Council. She provided great leadership in working towards establishing job descriptions for the council and in supporting the growth of the council as a whole. I am excited to see what comes next for Rachel and know she will continue to add value to the council and in her new role as part of the COC Athletes’ Commission.”

One thing is for sure, Nicol is grateful to so many people who helped her along the way, including her parents Lorraine and Chris, brothers Jeffrey and Alastair, and her fiancé Ogem Izegbu, who she plans to wed later this year. She’s also worked with mental performance consultant Sharleen Hoar, and had “a lot of great coaches,” highlighting Peter Schori at her home club in Lethbridge, and her most recent coach Mike Blondal at the University of Calgary Swim Club in particular.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of family, friends, teammates and coaches, and I’ve been working with a mental performance consultant since I was 13 or 14,” Nicol says. “I always say mental health is really important and I wouldn’t be where I am without the help of that and everybody else in my corner to help me along the way, so a really big thank you to everybody who’s helped me.”