She is still in love with her sport. This is why she is currently experiencing mourning. But Quebec swimmer Katerine Savard was ready to take this sporting retirement, made official on Wednesday.
“It’s a decision that was taken somewhat naturally in the circumstances,” she told The Canadian Press, sitting on the mezzanine of the Claude-Robillard Sports Complex. I didn’t qualify this summer for my fourth Olympics, I’m now 31, finished school, etc. I still took the time to think about it. It’s a big loss, which is not over. »
“It was a difficult decision to make, but I think it was the right time to do it. Opportunities have presented themselves to me over the last few weeks, and I’m riding on them right now,” she explained.
These opportunities came from both the world of teaching and… “coaching”.
A future as a coach and teacher
“I got a contract in a kindergarten class and was offered to coach young swimmers in the evenings. Several people had been telling me for years that I would be a good coach, so I thought it was time to try that, during this transition. I live on these trials to see who I will be in the next few years. »
The three-time Olympian earned her bachelor’s degree in teaching in 2021, but she put that career on hold during the last Olympic cycle to try her luck at the Paris 2024 Games. That’s when she returned home to Quebec — she is a native of Pont-Rouge — that her decision was confirmed.
“When I moved back to Quebec, we were looking for a teacher to replace sick leave, so I jumped at the opportunity. I am very passionate about life and I was afraid of having downtime, moments where I wouldn’t really know what to do. There, I had a month of November busier than ever! I teach all day and “coach” every evening. I really like helping young people progress, whether at school or in the swimming pool. »
A career full of ups and downs
Katerine Savard made her mark in the history of Canadian swimming with a collection of 34 medals obtained during international competitions spread over 11 years.
She notably won the bronze medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016. The swimmer was also crowned world champion on four occasions with the Canadian relay team, in addition to having been gold medalist in the 100m butterfly at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
The same year, Savard also established a Canadian record with a time of 57.27 seconds in the 100m butterfly.
Yet there were times in her career when she no longer enjoyed swimming.
“In 2018. That’s when I took a sabbatical,” she recalled. I’m glad I listened to my head. If it hadn’t been for this break, I wouldn’t have tried swimming until 2024. In the last few years, I had rediscovered this passion for sport. It pains me a lot to put all that aside, because I love this sport. »
Looking back, she wishes this love and pride had been stronger throughout her career.
“I feel like, in the present moment, I had more regrets or doubts than now that my career is over. I regret today not having appreciated and celebrated all these moments. I don’t have dozens of Olympic medals, but what I regret about my work is not having been proud of it earlier. »
Well prepared for what comes next
Savard had prepared well for this transition. The one who swears she wanted to be a teacher even before being an athlete knew how to listen to the people around her who told her from the start that there was more to life than just sport. In fact, that there had to be something other than swimming.
“My first coach with whom I competed in the Olympics, Marc-André Pelletier, in Quebec, told me how important it was to have something else, like my parents always told me that having something else was important. I remember that as a teenager, my mother “forced” me to have a social life and activities. I didn’t see the importance of it at the time, but I think I have a more balanced life because of it,” she admitted.
“Now, as a teacher, I know that it is not for everyone to study at the same time as sport. Without major studies, there is something to do in between to have something other than sport in life. Today, I am leaving swimming, but when I enter a class, I am happy to have this new passion,” summarized Katerine Savard.
And who knows, maybe one day she will be as comfortable in a classroom as a fish in water?
