Canadian Jeremy Bagshaw’s Road to Tokyo Includes Med School in Ireland

Jul 17, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Jeremy Bagshaw of Canada (top) races Ryan Cochrane of Canada (bottom) in the men's swimming 400m freestyle preliminary heats during the 2015 Pan Am Games at Pan Am Aquatics UTS Centre and Field House. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

Jeremy Bagshaw, top, races fellow Canadian Ryan Cochrane during the 400 freestyle prelims at the 2015 Pan Am Games Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports Images

Jeremy Bagshaw’s preparation for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics will take him abroad … to the University of Limerick in Ireland, where he begins medical school this month.

Bagshaw, 28, attended the University of California Berkeley, competing until 2014 and completing his degree in 2015. The native of Victoria, British Columbia, had trained at the High Performance Center there. He’s competed in the last three World Championships, as part of the Canadian 800 freestyle relay at the 2019 edition in Gwangju, South Korea. He won relay bronze and finaled in two events at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.

Bagshaw finished second in the 200 free at the Canadian Olympic Trials in 2016, finishing 0.03 seconds behind Markus Thormeyer to miss a chance to go to Rio. The Canadian 800 free relay did not qualify for Rio.

An integrative biology major at Cal, Bagshaw obtained his master’s degree in exercise physiology at the University of Victoria. Medical school wasn’t always in his sights, but a career in the sciences was. His hands-on experience includes serving as an athlete representative for Swimming Canada’s Swimming Working Group that crafted the nation’s “Return to Swimming” plan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The first two years of my undergrad I kind of wasn’t sure and then through taking a bunch of bio classes and science classes I figured it was something I was leaning towards,” Bagshaw told Swimming Canada. “Then I had the chance to shadow a doctor in Victoria for a little while and that kind of just built up my interest in doing it and following that career.”

Swimming Canada coach Martyn Wilby connected Bagshaw with the University of Limerick, whose men’s team Bagshaw will train with. The facility includes a 50-meter pool.

It gives Bagshaw something else to focus on as he aims for Tokyo.

“It’s just exciting, I think it adds another piece of what athletes are,” Bagshaw said. “Up until this I did my undergrad and stuff like that but it wasn’t anything definitive like setting myself up for a career after swimming. Having that piece, another identity for me, already ready when my swimming career is over, is definitely something that [will make] it easier for me to transition.”

Read Jeremy Bagshaw’s story on Swimming Canada’s website.

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