Ottawa teen swimmer ties record for most medals at 2022 Canada Games

As a child, Ottawa's Julie Brousseau was afraid of water.

Now, the 16-year-old competitive swimmer wades into a pool at least once a day.

"I'd just be super scared to get in the water. But I think once I started swimming ... I liked it," said Brousseau. "It's a pretty rewarding sport.

"It makes me feel pretty happy."

That growing passion led to several momentous wins this past month for the young athlete.

Brousseau walked away with 11 medals — six gold, one silver and four bronze — at the 2022 Canada Summer Games in St. Catharines, Ont., which ends on Sunday. There were 317 swimmers, para swimmers and special Olympians competing at the six-day competition.

Brousseau won three of those medals in just over an hour on the last day of the swimming events of the games.

Her phenomenal streak landed her in the record books this year — she's tied the record for most medals won at a single Canada Games with Ontario swimmer Hanna Henderson, who set her record at the 2017 Canada Summer Games, according to Swimming Canada.

"When I was younger, I never really thought I'd be able to do this or go to the Canada Games. But the more you keep pushing, the more you realize that it's possible," said Brousseau, who added this was her first time at this competition.

"Being able to win 11, which is kind of special, and just doing it for Team Ontario ... it was pretty cool."

Brousseau said she was surprised by her own performance, thanking her coach, parents, grandparents and friends for helping her succeed and supporting her.

"It gets really close and there's so many other fast girls around you, you're not sure — like anything could really happen."

What's next

Brousseau said she's trained for these moments, all while juggling her studies as an honours student at Nepean High School.

In fact, she was in class this spring when she found out she was heading to the Canada Games.

"My mom texted me because she got an email saying I was selected and I was super excited," she said.

Now she's eyeing the Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships next week in Honolulu.

She's now training about nine times a week, hours at a time, and is hoping for a few more medals to add to her collection.

"I'm feeling pretty prepared after Canada Games," Brousseau said. "[My hope] is to have fun and try to make finals .. and do the best I can."