Maggie MacNeil looking for 'full experience' in her final Olympic Games

Canada's Maggie MacNeil, of London, Ont. waves after winning gold medal in the 100m butterfly final at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile on Sunday Oct. 22, 2023. (Source: The Canadian Press/Frank Gunn)

Maggie MacNeil took the world by storm at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo.

She returned to London, Ont. with a medal of every colour, and with three swimming medals was named female athlete of the games.

However, the thrill and excitement was slightly soured as the pandemic robbed her of enjoying the success with family and friends.

This time, she’ll have 13 family members in Paris, France.

“I think I'm kind of looking at this one more as trying to get the full experience an Olympic Games because we didn’t have that last time,” said MacNeil, who is now inside the athletes village.

“This time I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself. Obviously I want to do the best that I can and I want to try to do as well as I did last time, but I put a lot of emphasis on, it's not the be all and end all if I'm not as successful as I was last time”.

MacNeil will compete in the 100m butterfly which she is the reigning gold medallist in a time of 55.59.

She is a surprise entry in the 100m freestyle, and will swim in the 4x100m medley relay, and potentially a mixed relay.

She isn’t the favourite in the 100m fly this time, but she thrives when perceived as an underdog.

“Training has gone super well,” said MacNeil.

“I think I've done some sets similar to what I did last year at this time, and I've seen dramatic improvements. So obviously super excited about that”.

MacNeil hasn’t raced a lot this season, compared to other years after graduating from Louisiana State University.

“I haven't really seen have the performances that I know I'm capable of so far this year, but I know that when the meet matters the most and when the pressure's on is greatest is usually when I tend to step up”.

Though she hasn’t touched her time from Tokyo, she swam 56.61 at the Canadian Trials, and won gold at the 2023 Pan American Games where she was an ambassador

“I wanted to do well not only for myself and for Canada, but for them as well, because they did choose me to kind of be in that role,” said MacNeil.

“I had a very successful games, and it's always good to practice being in that kind of uncontrollable atmosphere. Whether we got delayed on the bus, that took an hour, 15 (minutes) when it should have been thirty (minutes). Practicing things like that, being in a village, having dining hall food, just kind of things that you are going to get when you get to the Olympics”.

After the Pan Am games, she turned her focus to Paris when the calendar turned to 2024.

This will be her final Olympic Games. With plans to attend law school, she has no desire to do another four-year cycle.

“I feel like Tokyo (2021) was yesterday, but also like 100 years ago at the same time,” says MacNeil.

“I feel like I've done a lot and accomplished a lot, and I've grown a lot as a person since the last Olympics. “I also feel like I remember it like it was yesterday, but I'm excited for more memories like that with my teammates”.

MacNeil will begin her games on Saturday July 27, 2024.