For Claire Scheffel, her experience at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France was an unforgettable one.

Scheffel, who, along with her artistic swimming teammates, were ready to represent Canada and build upon their successful year.

“It really felt like a normal competition on the way there, we left Montreal going to Paris, but we had a layover in Toronto, so all of us we’re in our Canadian Olympic gear…when we landed in Toronto, we were picked up by one of the Air Canada staff, and she ran us through the airport [and] she had a sign that said we were ‘Team Canada’…everyone was cheering for us as we’re running by,” recalled Scheffel.

“There ended up being a full parade to get to our plane to Paris…that’s when it kicked in and I thought ‘we’re going to the Olympics!’ After that initial shock, we got to Paris, went to the Olympic village, went to bed and then attended the opening ceremonies when we awoke…we were still a week out from competing, so it was very exciting. We got to soak everything in for that moment before we got refocused and got back to what we needed to do.”

Scheffel, along with her teammates, felt confident going up against some of best in the world in Paris.

“I would say that we were the most prepared that we’ve ever been before. We knew our goals, we knew what we wanted, [and] we knew that our peak was going to be at the Games,” noted Scheffel. “We went in feeling confident, ready to go, and very connected as a team [and] I think we were more excited, rather than being nervous.”

The full story can be found on our content partner, The Brant Beacon.