Swimmer MacNeil Earns Trip to Tokyo Olympics
1/22/2021 3:58:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving, Olympics
TORONTO, Canada -- Junior Maggie MacNeil of the University of Michigan women's swimming and diving program was among the six athletes provisionally nominated to represent Team Canada at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, per an announcement from Canadian Olympic Committee and Swimming Canada on Friday afternoon (Jan. 22).
MacNeil earned her spot based on her performance at the 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, highlighted by her gold medal-winning swim in the 100-meter butterfly. She also won bronze medals as part of Canada's 4x100-meter freestyle relay and 4x100-meter medley relay. [ READ: World's Best: How Maggie MacNeil Went From Unknown to World Champion (March 2020) ]
MacNeil was named to the roster for the 100-meter butterfly, and will have an opportunity to add more events to her schedule at the Canadian Olympic Trials, now held May 24-28 in Toronto.
A native of London, Ontario, Canada, MacNeil is already among the best swimmers in program history. A 14-time CSCAA All-American and 10-time Big Ten champion, MacNeil holds nine school records (five individual, four relay). In 2020, MacNeil was Big Ten Swimmer of the Year, Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships, the U-M Female Athlete of the Year and a finalist for the 2020 Honda Award for Swimming & Diving.
She is the 16th member of the U-M women's swimming and diving team to qualify for the Olympics and is the third to represent Canada (Melinda Copp in 1984; Shannon Shakespeare in 1996).
The Tokyo Olympics, postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are slated to begin Friday, July 23 and continue through Sunday, Aug. 8. The swimming portion runs from Saturday, July 24 to Sunday, Aug. 1. [ Full Schedule ]
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