Name: Tracy Little
Sport: Synchronized Swimming
Hometown: Montreal, QC
Favorite Sports Memory: It was actually when I was in Swimming, 13 years old. I was at the Jeux Du Quebec and swimming the 400m Free Final. After prelims I was in 2nd place by over 10 seconds. In the final I was head to head with my main competitor the entire race. I never let her out of my sight. I fought and she ended up beating me by .001 seconds. I was not upset at all, I had reached a new personal best time by over 12 seconds and proved how much of a fighter I was. This moment will remain in my mind forever.
How you got involved in your sport: Before I was a synchronized swimmer I had participated in many different sports. I chose to switch from competitive swimming because I wasn’t improving as much and I wanted a new challenge. A team sport looked more fun and interesting to me. I’m glad I switched J
The moment you knew you wanted to represent Canada: I knew I wanted to be an Olympian since I was 4-5 years old. I had made packs with some friends of mine that we would go to the Olympics together. One of these friends is Joelle Bekhazi, Water Polo. I used to draw the tattoo of the Olympic rings on my arm. And write in my diary every day about how badly I wanted to be an Olympian. It has always been a dream of mine.
Favorite Quote: “The harder you work, the luckier you get” and “keep calm and carry on”
CAN Fund Testimonial: I train for the love of the sport and CAN Fund gives us the other half we need to succeed. Thanks to CAN Fund and their belief in how hard we as athletes work. Knowing I have the support I need gives me great peace of mind.
Best Result:
3rd Junior Worlds in Montreal, 2002
3rd World Championships in Rome, 2009
3rd World Championships in China, 2011
4th Olympics Beijing 2008
Share one valuable tool that you use on a daily basis that helps you to be the best athlete you can be: Don’t set any standard. Always push the bar higher. I like to go to bed at night and say how I want my day to be tomorrow. Put one positive idea in my head so that when I wake up I think about that and not a negative thought about wanting to stay in bed or not give my 100% that day.
Who is one person in your life that has impacted your career and what was it that they taught you? The person who impacted my career the most would be Justin Finney. He was a swimming coach back in the day. I had been in Synchro for a few years and had already made National team. I was sick of training and so I quit the sport. For 2 months after I quit, everyone around me tried to talk me to my senses to realize it was just a silly high school/friend issue that had stopped me from achieving my dreams but I listened to no one. Justin is a pretty big and intimidating guy who I did not know very well at the time. He went out of his way, picked me up from my house and almost demanded I get in the car with him while we went for what seemed to be a very long drive all around Montreal. He managed to somehow sum up how my future could be if I just pushed through this tough moment. He opened my eyes to the feeling of living your dream. So after this day spent with him I immediately asked my coach if I could come back to the team. To this day I thank Justin every day for talking sense into me. At that moment in my life I just needed someone to push me.
Fun Facts: I practiced handstands A LOT when I was younger and now I am better on my hands than my feet. I am really into music and have made over 1000 Cd’s over the years. I am the Team DJ, I always bring the music ;). I pray to my Grandma before every competition and tell her that “this swim is for you”.