Norway Bay

KC Jordan, LJI Reporter

Canada finishes 4th, narrowly misses medal

Wilf Brousseau’s cottage sits facing the Norway Bay pier, the place where his granddaughter Julie learned to swim.

On Thursday, clad in a red and white jersey bearing his family name and a cardboard cutout of his granddaughter’s face, he hosted family, friends, and other invited guests onto his lawn to watch Julie Brousseau compete in the Olympics for the first time.

A small group of supporters, mostly Brousseau’s close family, got up at the ripe hour of 5 a.m. to watch the swimmer, who spent her summers in Norway Bay, compete for team Canada in the qualifying rounds of the 4x200m freestyle relay, an event where each country fields a team of four swimmers, who each swim four lengths of the pool.

Don McGowan, Brousseau’s uncle-in-law and a member of the watch party, said some attendees weren’t even sure if Julie would swim for Team Canada at these Olympics. At the Olympic trials in May, she didn’t swim fast enough to qualify for any individual events, casting serious doubt on her chances. But ultimately her time was good enough to get her an invite for the relay team, a distinction many young swimmers get from the national swimming federation if they are considered promising talents who could reasonably benefit from the experience in order to be more successful in future Olympics.

As team Canada swam its qualifying rounds, 18-year-old Brousseau proved herself as one of her team’s fastest swimmers, posting Canada’s second-fastest time in the heats. Don McGowan, Brousseau’s uncle-in-law, said there was a gut feeling among the Norway Bay spectators that, should Canada qualify for the final race, Julie would be given the role of team Canada’s anchor—a position often reserved for the team’s fastest swimmer. “We said, ‘I have a feeling she’s going to make it.’”

The anchor, who swims last, must either hold down her team’s lead, or try to narrow the gap and overtake the leading swimmer, depending on the team’s position.

Sure enough, in Thursday’s final, which was broadcast outside on her grandfather’s lawn in front of a crowd of some 200 cheering fans, Brousseau had the unenviable position of trying to rescue her country from missing out on the podium. As she got ready to jump in the pool for the fourth and final leg of the race, Canada sat in fourth place, behind the United States, Australia, and China. Summer McIntosh, the 17-year-old prodigy who to date has won four medals at these Paris games, preceded Brousseau in the order. She had narrowed the margin between the Canadians and the three leading teams, but there was still work to be done. With a typical look of resolute determination on her face, Julie hopped in the pool, hoping to make up the gap and bring a medal to her country.

McGowan said ever since Brousseau was a kid learning to swim in Norway Bay, she has had a singular drive to succeed. He said outside the pool she is a normal kid, but when she gets in the pool it’s all business. “She’s such a nice kid, and she’s just a goofball, and very smart academically […] but when she gets in the pool she’s absolutely single-minded; so competitive.”

As her leg of the race went on, it became clear the American, Aussie, and Chinese swimmers were too fast, and she wasn’t able to close the gap. Canada finished fourth behind those three teams, who won gold, silver, and bronze, respectively.

At grandfather Brousseau’s cottage, everyone was cheering Julie on until the bitter end. “I think some of the family were more stressed than she was,” McGowan joked, adding that it was nice to get together to celebrate Julie even if her race didn’t result in a medal. The event raised over $900 for the Norway Bay Municipal Association, the group that organizes community events in the summer, including swimming lessons. McGowan said he and other supporters are hoping to attend the next summer games in Los Angeles, should Brousseau qualify.

KC Jordan, LJI Reporter

Julie Brousseau spent her childhood summers on the shores of the Ottawa River, learning how to swim.
Her family had a cottage in Norway Bay, a community with a deep connection to the water. She couldn’t get enough of it — when she wasn’t taking lessons, she was swimming with her friends and cousins.
It was also where Julie got her first taste of competition. She participated in the annual Regatta, a community summer staple that involves an array of athletics contests, including swimming.
In her early teens, Julie’s family stopped summering at the cottage. But the call of the water stayed with her.
She started training competitively in Ottawa, making waves as one of Canada’s best young swimming prospects.
She won 11 medals at the 2022 Canada Games, and added three more at last year’s Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
Then, in May, Julie achieved something she never thought possible.
She became an Olympian.
Her performance at the Canadian swimming trials qualified her for this summer’s Paris Olympics. She will compete in the 4x200m freestyle, a team event where each swimmer completes four lengths of the pool.
With her qualification, Julie joins a long line of decorated Canadian swimmers. Walking alongside her at the July 26 opening ceremonies will be Penny Oleksiak, Canada’s all-time leading Olympic medalist, and Summer McIntosh, the current world record-holder in the 400-metre individual medley.
Julie is excited at the opportunity to compete alongside these women.
“I remember watching the past two Olympics and seeing Penny and all of them swimming there,” she said. “So it’s crazy that now I’ll get to be on a team with them.”
Preparations for the Games have been intense. Julie said she’s in the pool nine times a week.
“I’m pretty much always at the Sportsplex, swimming and lifting weights.”
When she’s not swimming, Julie is a student at Nepean High School, where she’s hitting the books trying to wrap up her Grade 12 year.
“Sometimes I have to miss two weeks of school at a time,” she said.
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, Canada narrowly missed out on a medal in Julie’s event, finishing in fourth place. This year, she wants to help her country improve on that result.
In Paris, Julie plans to immerse herself in the Olympic experience — exploring the athletes’ village, meeting people from around the world, and taking in lots of sports.
Naturally, she’ll be watching a lot of swimming. Many of her teammates are medal favourites in this year’s Games, and she’ll be at the pool cheering them on.
But she’s also looking forward to taking in some other sports. As a former competitive basketball player, she still follows the game, and she’s excited to see both Canadian teams on the court.
“Hopefully they can bring home a medal,” she said.
Once the Games come to a close in early August, she and her family are going to the south of France to enjoy some much-needed rest and relaxation.
Then, it’s back to the grind. Julie will start training in preparation for her freshman year at the University of Florida, where she’ll swim for the Gators.