“It’s such an honor,” said Smith. “My parents are so proud. I remember being named Athlete of the Month once in elementary school and it was so exciting for me. I still have that magazine at home -- my dad had gone all around the city to collect them. To win Athlete of the Year this year is such a big honor. It’s always exciting to represent Kelowna, and the support that I felt from the community growing up has really helped me get where I am today.”

Her prize money ($2,000) will help to keep supporting her journey in the sport of swimming, as she presses on through her final year of NCAA eligibility at the University of Minnesota, and aims towards the 2020 Olympiad in Tokyo, Japan.

Photo Credit: Contributed

“It’ll definitely go towards training,” Smith said. “Swim meet fees, equipment, and everything. I’m not really in a situation where I’m making money yet, so it’ll definitely help out so much. To get to the top of the podium in Tokyo, everything helps, and I think this will make a difference in this coming year. It means I don’t have to get a part-time job and that I can just focus on training. That’s where it’ll become so helpful.”

2016 was a year chock full of highlights for the Immaculata Regional High School graduate. She started it off by being named Swimming Canada’s female breaststroke swimmer of the year for her 2015 season accolades. She parlayed that selection into three gold medals at the Speedo Western Canadian Open in February.

After hitting the Olympic qualifying standards in April for both the 100-metre and 200-metre breaststroke, Smith was nominated and named to the Canadian Olympic team that would head to Rio in August. That Olympic qualification had been her major focus – Smith took the year off from her studies at U of M to concentrate on training to crack Team Canada’s Rio roster, a calculated risk that clearly paid off.