Canadian Olympic swimming champion Maggie Mac Neil took time on Friday ahead of her 100-metre butterfly race at the Speedo Canadian Open to clarify a few things about her swimming future.
In February, during an interview with CBC Sports, Mac Neil said the Paris Olympics this summer would be her last Games.
“I would be happy if I retired now,” Mac Neil said during that interview.
In the wake of that story Mac Neil heard from a lot of people, many who were fearful that the end of her career was seemingly imminent.
WATCH | Olympic champion Mac Neil clarifies post-Paris future:
Canadian Olympic swimming champion clarifies her swimming future, talking about her plans post-Paris, and making sure she’s enjoying her swimming journey.
She’s setting the record straight – Mac Neil isn’t going anywhere fast, except in the pool.
“I’ve gotten a little slack on that headline,” she said.
“I’m definitely not done with the sport after Paris, but I think I was just saying at that moment that I was because four years is a long time to wait until L.A. And I mean, I do have ambitions outside the pool. So I was more talking about how I was excited to move on with that once my career has finally come to an end.”
When she finally did take to the pool in the 100m fly final on Friday evening, Mac Neil found herself in a riveting showdown with Canadian swimming phenom Summer McIntosh.
The two swimmers were essentially tied from start to finish but in the end it was McIntosh touching the wall first in a personal best time of 57.19. Mac Neil came in second in a time of 57.24.
More than anything this week’s competition was a tune-up for the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic trials that take place on May 13-20 at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre.
WATCH | McIntosh wins 100m fly, narrowly beating Olympic champion Mac Neil:
Summer McIntosh of Toronto beats reigning Olympic champion Maggie Mac Neil in the final of the women’s 100-metre butterfly and claims a gold medal for the third consecutive day at the Canadian Swimming Open.
Mac Neil is looking to become the first woman ever to win two gold medals in the 100m butterfly at the Olympics – and she’s not afraid to make that goal very clear.
“That’s a goal that’s in the back of my mind,” she said.
Mac Neil has won everything there is to win the sport.
She has Olympic gold, world championships, NCAA titles, Commonwealth Games gold all to her name.
This past fall Mac Neil won a Canadian record seven medals at the Pan Am Games in Santiago.
The 24-year-old from London, Ont., has been part of elevating Canadian swimming to a different level for years.
Taking a moment to celebrate achievements
And despite all of that success, it’s only now that Mac Neil is slowly starting to celebrate those achievements. She’s been hyper focused on being great for so long now and looking forward to what’s next on the competition schedule.
“I had this interesting conversation with Kylie [Masse] a couple of weeks ago we were talking about not taking enough time in the moment to celebrate what we’ve done,” Mac Neil said.
“It’s been always looking toward the next thing and I think that’s something we need to get better at, is being able to sit in the moment and kind of just revel in it for yourself, but also with your teammates.”
WATCH | Knox wins 50m breaststroke, 100m fly:
Finlay Knox of Okotoks, Alta., finishes first in the men’s 100-metre butterfly final at the Canadian Swimming Open with a time of 52.47. Less than 15 minutes later, Knox went back in the pool to claim the 50-metre breaststroke title with a time of 28.23.
With the Olympics five months away Mac Neil along with the rest of the Canadian swimmers are in their final push for the Games.
Mac Neil says she will continue training, and finishing her Masters, ahead of Paris – a juggling act she’s figured out.
“I think balance is an important thing for me and especially with finishing up my Masters. And I think my last exam is four days before trials. So just being able to do both and do both well is definitely challenging and then adding travel and everything on top of that,” Mac Neil said.
There was a time when it all felt like too much for Mac Neil. Not anymore.
“It’s been a great ride and I’m just enjoying every single day of training and I love coming back to this facility and getting to see all my friends,” she said.
“It’s always good to reconnect and there are people here that I’ll know and have in my life probably forever.”
WATCH | McIntosh leads from start finish to win 100m free:
Summer McIntosh of Toronto finishes first in the women’s 100-metre freestyle final with a time of 53.90, a day after reaching the top of the podium in the 200-metre freestyle event.