Sydney Pickrem

Biography

Sydney Pickrem won Olympic bronze with the women’s 4x100m medley relay at Tokyo 2020, swimming the breaststroke leg in both the heats and the final. Individually, she was a finalist in the 200m IM, finishing sixth for the second straight Games. She also contributed to Canada’s fourth-place finish in the 4x200m freestyle relay during her second Olympic appearance.

Born and raised in Florida, Pickrem is a dual Canadian-American citizen whose family hails from Halifax. She made her Olympic debut at Rio 2016 where she advanced to the final of the 200m IM, finishing sixth, and also competed in the 400m IM.

A year later, she won bronze in the 400m IM at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest. She was particularly proud of that result as it came just days after she was unable to finish the 200m IM final when she took on water. Pickrem added three more world championship medals in 2019, winning bronze in the 200m IM, the 200m breaststroke, and the 4x100m medley relay in which she swam the breaststroke leg for the team that set a Canadian record. She just missed the podium in the 400m IM with a fourth-place finish. In between world championships, she won 200m IM silver at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships.

Pickrem competed at her fourth straight World Aquatics Championships in 2022, making it to the semifinals of the 200m IM. She decided to opt of the 2022 Commonwealth Games to be able to focus on her physical and mental health. She also announced she would be heading back to training with the Texas A&M Aggies. The return to that familiar environment appeared to help; in the fall/winter of 2022, she won six medals on the short course World Cup circuit and two relay medals at the World Swimming Championships (25m).

Choosing to prioritize her mental health as she dealt with anxiety and depression, Pickrem did not compete at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, but joined Team Canada at Santiago 2023, her first appearance at the Pan Am Games since 2015. She won gold in both the 200m IM and 200m breaststroke. In February 2024, she returned to the podium at the World Aquatics Championships, winning silver in the 200m IM and bronze in the 200m breaststroke. She also swam in the heats of the women’s 4x100m medley relay in which Canada would win bronze.

In 2015, Pickrem won both individual medleys at the Canadian Trials and reached the podium in both events at the Pan Am Games in Toronto, taking silver in the 400m IM and bronze in the 200m IM. She then made her FINA World Championship debut, advancing to the final of the 200m IM.

Pickrem qualified for her first national team in 2014, allowing her to compete at the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships. Her summer was highlighted by her reaching the 200m IM final in Glasgow.

In 2013 she won four medals at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival before going on to swim in seven events at the FINA World Junior Championships where she won bronze in the 200m IM.

While competing for Texas A&M University from 2015 to 2019, Pickrem became an 11-time All-American and was twice named the school’s athlete of the year (2017, 2018).

A Little More About Sydney

Getting into the Sport: Started swimming at age 6 because her brother swam… Outside Interests: Enjoys wakeboarding and going to the beach… Graduated from Texas A&M University in 2019 where she studied kinesiology … Would like to become a physiotherapis tor athletic trainer or sports broadcaster… Enjoys cooking and baking… Odds and Ends: Nickname: Syd… Considers sparkly boots as her good luck charm… Favourite motto: Never give up…