Name: Valérie Welsh
Sport: Synchronized Swimming
Hometown: Saint-Nicolas, QC
Nickname: Welshie
Favorite Sports Memory: Winning the Pan Am Games in 2011 with the team and singing the national anthem together.
How you got involved in your sport: I used to play hockey and baseball with my brothers and I didn’t want to be all by myself in the stands.
The moment you knew you wanted to represent Canada: In 2000 when I saw the Canadian Synchro team win their bronze medal at the Sydney Games.
Favorite Quote: “The best way to predict our future is to invent it ourselves.”
Best Result: 1st at the 2011 Pan American Games and 3rd at the 2011 World Championships in the Combo event.
Share one valuable tool that you use on a daily basis that helps you to be the best athlete you can be. Take care of your body, rest and eat healthy. Believe in yourself and control what you can control.
Who is one person in your life that has impacted your career and what was it that they taught you? My parents have had a big impact on my career, they were always there for me. They cheered for me, they cried for me, they pushed me and they gave me comfort. My coach Julie Sauvé believed in me and she knows exactly how to push me to my potential.
Fun Facts: I always have to pray to the synchro god with my team before each swim in a competition. We are all in a circle, holding hands and I recite a poem that I write to the synchro god before each swim. It’s always funny stuff.
