Mary-Sophie Harvey

Biography

Mary-Sophie Harvey has always wanted to follow in her parents’ footsteps. Both were swimmers who previously competed at the Canadian Olympic Trials. In 2017, Harvey earned the right to represent Canada at her first major senior international meet, qualifying for the World Aquatics Championships with personal best times in the 200m freestyle and 400m IM at the Canadian Swimming Trials. She followed up her 2017 breakthrough by being named to the 2018 Commonwealth Games team where she reached the final in the 400m IM. 

In 2019, she qualified to Team Canada for the Pan Am Games in Lima after coming back from a severe injury. She had been out of competition for more than eight months due to tendonitis in both shoulders and had at times wondered if she would ever get back to where she was before. In Lima, Harvey competed in five events and reached the podium in four of them, including silver in the 200m butterfly and bronze in the 400m IM. Harvey made her Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 where she swam the third leg of the 4x200m freestyle relay in the heats. Canada would go on to finish fourth in the final. 

Harvey became a medallist at the World Aquatics Championships for the first time in 2022 when she swam in the heats for the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay that won bronze. Individually, she was a finalist in the 200m IM. Later that summer, she won two relay medals at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham where she posted sixth place finishes in the 100m backstroke and 200m IM. In December 2022 she contributed to medals in the women’s 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays at the short course World Swimming Championships (25m).

Harvey earned another medal at the World Aquatics Championships in 2023 when she swam in the heats for the women’s 4x100m medley relay that went on to win bronze. That was one of four relay teams of which she was a member at those worlds.

In the fall of 2023, Harvey won seven medals at the Pan Am Games in Santiago. Her haul was headlined by a gold medal in the 200m freestyle and silver in the 200m IM. She also contributed to five relay medals, including two gold. Harvey and swimming teammate Maggie Mac Neil became the first Canadian women to win seven medals at one Pan Am Games.

At the Olympic Swimming Trials in May 2024, Harvey finished second in the 100m butterfly to qualify to compete in her first individual Olympic event at Paris 2024.

Harvey represented Canada twice at the World Aquatics Junior Championships, first in 2013 and then in 2015. In her second appearance, she won a pair of silver medals in the 200m IM and 4x200m freestyle relay to go with a bronze in the 4x100m freestyle relay. In between she competed at the 2014 Australian Age Group Championships, winning seven gold medals (100m and 200m butterfly, 100m and 200m backstroke, 200m and 400m IM, 200m breaststroke). She also reached the podium at the 2014 Junior Pan Pacific Championships.

A Little More About Mary-Sophie

Getting into the Sport: Started swimming at age 6… Odds and Ends: Collects magnets when travelling…