Rachel’s Bio

• Nicol won the first gold medal for Canada at the 2023 Pan American Games in the 100-metre breaststroke and was part of the 4×100 medley relay which also took gold.
• Nicol took home bronze as a member of the 4×100-m medley relay at the 2022 FINA World Championships in Budapest. She was also part of the mixed 4×100-m medley relay team that placed 11th and, individually, she placed 18th in the 50-m breaststroke.
• At the 2022 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials, Nicol captured silver in both the 100-m and 200-m breaststroke, qualifying her for the 2022 FINA World Championships and the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
• At the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Nicol finished 5^th in the 100-m breaststroke. She also swam the breaststroke leg of the 4×100-m medley relay that finished 5th in Canadian record time.
• At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Nicol finished 9th in the 100-m breaststroke, and 11th in the 50-m breaststroke.
• At the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships, Nicol finished 12th and 14th in the 100-m and 200-m breaststroke.
• At the 2018 Canadian Swimming Trials in Edmonton, Nicol earned silver in the 100-m breaststroke.
• At the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest, Nicol placed eighth in the 50-m breaststroke with a personal best time and 10^th in the 100 breast.
• At the 2017 Canadian Swimming Trials in Victoria, Nicol qualified for her second FINA World Championships with gold medals in the 50-m and 100-m breaststroke events.
• At the 2016 FINA World Swimming Championships (25-m) in Windsor, Ont. Nicol competed in two individual events and a relay. Nicol made the final of the 100-m breaststroke where she finished 8^th in a personal best time of 1:05.15. She also made the semifinals in the 50-m breaststroke where she finished 10^th, also in a personal best time of 30.38.
• At the same competition, she swam the breaststroke leg of the 4×100-m medley relay and with her teammates Kylie Masse, Katerine Savard and Penny Oleksiak, won a silver medal.
• At the 2016 Olympic & Para-swimming Trials in Toronto, Nicol finished 2nd in the 100-m breaststroke to qualify for her first Olympic Games.
• At the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games, Nicol earned a bronze medal in the 100-m breaststroke. She followed up by swimming the 4×100-m medley relay that won a silver medal, along with teammates Dominique Bouchard, Noemie Thomas and Chantal Van Landeghem.
• At the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia, Nicol made it to semifinals in the 50-m and 100-m breaststroke where she finished 10^thand 11^th.
• In Kazan, Nicol swam the 4×100-m medley alongside teammates Dominique Bouchard, Katerine Savard and Sandrine Mainville, finishing sixth.
• Nicol studied applied physiology at Southern Methodist University.
• She plans to pursue a career in sports therapy.
• In 2014-15 she received both All-Conference Honors and All-American Honors for her swimming performances.
• In 2010, Nicol won the gold medal in the 50-m breaststroke and added two bronze at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.
• Her father Chris was a competitive swimmer in his native Scotland before coming to Canada to compete for Queen’s University.
• Her mother Lorraine was president of the Lethbridge Club for four years and a member of the board for six.
• She says her biggest influences are the horse Seabiscuit and her family

Quick Facts

• Instagram: @cheetah_345
• Favourite Movie: Gladiator
• Favourite Book: East
• Favourite TV Show: Friends, Parks and Rec, Game of Thrones
• Favourite Actor/Actress: Viggo Mortensen
• Favourite Band: Rolling Stones
• Pre-Race Meal: Pasta
• Guilty Pleasure: Teen books
• Superhero: Batman