Red Deer’s own Rebecca Smith returns home after winning silver in Tokyo

RED DEER -

Signing autographs and taking pictures has recently become a part of daily life for Rebecca Smith. The 21-year-old returned home to Red Deer just over a week ago, and she’s already being recognized for her accomplishment.

“It’s been wild that people recognize me when I’m just walking on the street,” Smith said.

“It’s pretty cool.”

In June, Smith qualified for the 4x200 metre freestyle relay in Tokyo after she finished third in the 200-metre freestyle at the Olympic trials in Toronto.

“Once I saw that three beside my name, I was just filled with joy,” she said.

But, it wasn’t in the 4x200 metre relay where she won her Olympic medal. Smith along with her teammates Penny Oleksiak, Margaret Mac Neil, and Kayla Sanchez won the silver medal for the 4x100 metre freestyle relay. It was an event that she was not expecting to compete in.

“Three days before the competition started, my coach came up to me and said ‘Hey, we need you for this relay in prelims.” I said, ‘Okay, I’m ready. I’ll do whatever I can to help the team,’” she said.

“I swam as fast as I possibly could in the prelims, and I had my best split ever, and they decided to put me in the final, so just crazy how it all worked out.”

Smith swam the third leg of the relay. Her teammate, Penny Oleksiak, was the anchor. Smith remembers the excitement she felt when Oleksiak hit the 50-metre mark.

“When she flipped at the 50, we could tell that it was between us and the States,” she said.

“We were screaming our heads off. We were jumping up and down, and when she touched and we saw that two beside our name, we just went crazy. It was so exciting.”

The former Red Deer Catalina Swim Club member first started swimming when she was eight years old. Now, she is the first person from Red Deer to medal at the Summer Olympics.

“I’m super proud to be from Red Deer, and I’m just glad that I could represent our county.”

It’s an accomplishment Smith and the people of her hometown will remember for years to come.

“I’m just so happy with my hard work and how it paid off.”

Smith and her team finished fourth in the 4x200 metre freestyle relay, setting a Canadian record.