Paralympic Champion Aurelie Rivard Gets Hometown Pool Named in Honor
Canadian Paralympian Aurelie Rivard on Monday had the pool in her hometown in Quebec named in her honor.
The pool in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec is now Piscine Aurelie-Rivard. It’s the facility in which Rivard, 28, learned to swim, launching her way to six Paralympic gold medals, four silver and three bronze. She won her first medal at age 16 in 2012 and was Canada’s flagbearer at the Closing Ceremonies of the 2016 Paralympics.
Rivard is also a six-time World Champion and 14-time Worlds medalist. She has competed in the S9 and S10/SM10 classifications, holding the world record in the S10 100, 200 and 400 free.
Rivard won gold in the S10 400 free, plus silver in the 100 free and bronze in the 100 free at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, her fourth.
When Rivard trained there, the pool was named the Complexe Sportif Claude-Raymond, for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer and former MLB All-Star. Claude Raymond, 87, took part in Monday’s dedication, and the fund behind his legacy, the Claude Raymond Fund, fully backed the change.
“I spent most of my life at this facility which symbolizes personal growth, inclusion, and excellence for me,” Rivard told Paralympics Canada. “Never could I have imagined that one day my name would be immortalized in this way, marking the history of my city.”
Rivard was born and raised in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, a town of less than 100,000 residents situated a half-hour south of Montreal and a half-hour north of the border with Vermont. Rivard is a law student at Universite Laval. Mayor Andree Bouchard presided over the ceremony, while Parasports Quebec board chair Benoit Huot was also present.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the unwavering support of my hometown throughout my career,” she said. “Whether through institutions or individuals I have encountered along the way, everyone has helped lift me to reach the top.”