The 2024 Summer Olympics will get underway in Paris in less than three weeks, and later this summer France’s capital will also host the 2024 Summer Paralympics.
Nearly 15,000 athletes are scheduled to compete at the two events — which sounds like a large number, but the competition just to get there is equally intense.
“It’s always been a lifelong dream to make the team,” said Reid Maxwell, who is heading to the Paralympics later this summer.
Maxwell is one of two swimmers from the Edmonton area who spoke to Global News at Noon Edmonton on Tuesday about their excitement to perform on the international stages.
Maxwell, a 16-year-old who said the 400-metre freestyle event is his “bread and butter,” recalled how he felt when he learned he had qualified.
“It was pretty surreal,” he said.
“I still don’t think it’s set in.”
Maxwell said he has yet to learn what swimming event(s) he will be competing in.
Emma Finlin, 19, will represent Canada in the women’s 10-kilometre open water swimming event at the Olympics this summer.
“It’s quite an aggressive sport to be honest,” she said. “The cameras don’t really follow us fully throughout the race, so you can’t really see what’s going on in the water. But it’s a pretty endurance-based event.”
Finlin made her international debut for Canada at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships. She has committed to swim collegiately for Ohio State University in the fall.
“I’m super excited,” said the athlete, who began swimming at the age of six. She told Global News her older sister began swimming first and she dove in not long after.
“I’ve always looked up to her, so I kind of just followed in her footsteps and I just stuck with it,” Finlin said, noting that her whole family will be with her at the Olympics in France.
“They’ve been with me for this whole process so I think it’s great they get to come with me.”
Both Finlin and Maxwell acknowledged there is pressure to perform at their events this summer, but noted they have support networks that help.
“Our coaches and the people we work with kind of keep us calm, which is really nice,” Finlin said. “There’s lots of resources.”
“Coaches, family (and) friends kind of keep you in check, but the pressure is definitely there,” Maxwell said.
Maxwell, who was born missing his lower right leg and lives with Prune Belly Syndrome, which involves a partial or complete absence of stomach muscles, first emerged on the national swimming stage at the 2022 Canada Games, where he won five medals in seven events.
He said while swimming is his primary pursuit when it comes to competitive sports, he also likes mountain biking, kayaking and snowboarding.
While Maxwell and Finlin are eagerly anticipating the opportunity to perform in the pools at the Paris events, they are also looking forward to the experience as a whole. Both hope to visit the Eiffel Tower.
Maxwell said while he is in France he also plans to take a trip to Vichy.
“I get four days after, so I am really excited for closing ceremonies,” Finlin said. “I think that will be really cool because I am not there for opening (ceremonies).”
The Olympics run from Friday, July 26 to Sunday, Aug. 11. The Paralympic Games take place from Wednesday, Aug. 28 to Sunday, Sept. 8.