London's own Maggie Mac Neil comes home with every colour medal
Olympian Maggie Mac Neil came home this weekend after receiving a gold, silver and bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Although tired and getting use to the time change, Mac Neil spoke with Ken and Loreena on News Talk 1290 CJBK early Tuesday morning.
With the pandemic, she told CJBK, "I pretty much didn't go in with any expectations because of the year that we had."
No expectations, but she came home with three medals to her name:
- Gold: Women's 100m butterfly
- Silver: Women's 4x100m freestyle relay
- Bronze: Women's 4x100m medley relay
With those medals has come new-found fame. She got a bit of a taste of it after winning worlds in 2019, but now she's a well-known Canadian, even getting a follow on Instagram from Ryan Reynolds, and having a brief conversation with him via direct messaging.
"I was getting so many followers a day but I kept scrolling and I was like, I found it and I was, it was just shocking. I told him The Proposal was one of my favorite movies, so I was like I texted him that and he's like, 'Oh, I love that movie too,' so it was really it was really cool."
As her hometown of London cheered her on, she also took time to speak to swimmers that she once swam with saying, "I was where they are. If you want to do something and put your mind to it, you can accomplish whatever you want."
Mac Neil claimed she's a 'swim nerd' who's constantly checking stats to see what she can do to get better.
The 21-year-old said the team had a final debriefing after the competition, counting down the two years plus until the next Olympics, but also making sure to enjoy the moment.
Although there was talk of Mac Neil being the flag bearer at the closing ceremonies of the Olympics, the Canadian Olympic Committee rules state that Olympians must depart within 24-48 hours of their final competition due to COVID-19 regulations.
Now that she's home, she assumes it will be one of the Olympians who is still in Tokyo.
What is the Olympian going to do now that she's home?
"Probably chill out, maybe take a nap at some point…have a campfire and a homemade drive-in with some of my friends."
- With files from CTV News London's Brent Lale
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
India's 'most wanted terrorist' arrested on gun charges in Canada
One of India's most wanted terrorists has been arrested and charged in connection with a recent alleged shooting in Ontario.
Donald Trump picks Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz to serve as attorney general
President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday said he will nominate Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to serve as his attorney general, putting a loyalist in the role of the nation's top prosecutor.
Dave Coulier, 'Full House' star, has cancer
Dave Coulier, an actor and comedian who found fame as Uncle Joey on "Full House," has revealed he has been diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer.
Canada bracing for 'tough' talks as Trump's pick calls northern border an 'extreme vulnerability'
The Canadian government is aware it's likely in for 'tough conversations' with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's administration, after his border czar said there is 'an extreme national security vulnerability' he intends to tackle at the Canada-U.S. border.
What makes walking so great for your health and what else you need to do
Medical experts agree that walking is an easy way to improve physical and mental health, bolster fitness and prevent disease. While it’s not the only sort of exercise people should do, it’s a great first step toward a healthy life.
This Canadian airline will adopt Apple's new AirTag feature to help recover lost baggage. Here's how
Apple announced that a new feature, 'Share Item Location,' will help users locate and recover misplaced items by sharing an AirTag location with third parties including airlines.
Oldest stone tablet inscribed with Bible's Ten Commandments to be sold at auction
The oldest known tablet inscribed with the Ten Commandments from the Old Testament is expected to fetch up to US$2 million when it goes up for auction next month.
Overwhelmed families surrendering custody of their children to CAS
Overwhelmed families in Ontario are having to surrender their children to the Children's Aid Society, and according to the society, the residential crisis is part of the problem.
Kitchener, Ont. woman with incurable cancer dies, fight continues to get provincial funding for expensive drug treatment
The family of a young Kitchener woman, who died Sunday from a rare bile duct cancer, is promising her quest to get provincial funding for a drug that helped extend her life will continue.