Rick Say

Executive Member
Athletes’ Commission

Rick Say has been an executive member of the COC’s Athletes’ Commission since the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

In 2008, Say became only the eighth Canadian swimmer ever to compete in three Olympic Games. In Beijing he was a member of the men’s 4×100-metre freestyle relay team that finished sixth in the finals and set a new Canadian record. At the 2004 Olympic Games, Say finished fifth in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay and sixth in the 200 metre freestyle. At his first Olympic Games, in 2000, he finished seventh in both those same events – as well as 14th in the 400 metre freestyle.

Say is an established star and veteran on Canada’s national swim team. He has won the most international medals in Canadian swimming history. With the 4×200-metre freestyle relay team, he won a bronze medal at the 2007 World Championships. Two years earlier at the World Championships in Montreal, Say collected two silver medals in the 4×100- and 4×200-metre freestyle relays (both new Canadian records). He is a four-time Commonwealth Games medallist with three more fourth-place finishes in 1998, 2002 and 2006.

Say has excelled at Olympic trials in the past. In 2000, he broke a Canadian record in the 400 metre freestyle, eclipsing a 20-year-old mark. And in 2004, he refocused on the 200 metre freestyle, finishing first with another Canadian record that was fifth-fastest in the world. Say has reached the podium in many other major competitions.

He has been a national team member since 1997 and captain since 2002. A swim coach since 1996, Say has been athlete representative for the sport several times. He is a graduate of both the University of Victoria and the University of Calgary.