Swimming Canada is pleased to support the nomination of Dr. Margo Mountjoy in her bid to become the first Canadian FINA Vice-President for the Americas.

If elected, this position would place Mountjoy on the FINA Executive, and put her at the top level of decision making for aquatic athletes.

“I am delighted to support Dr. Mountjoy’s bid to become a Vice-President of FINA. In her 10 years as a FINA Bureau member, she has provided significant contributions to athlete health improvements for all the aquatic sports, including programs for mental health, concussion reduction, learn to swim, and safe water temperature,” says Swimming Canada President Cheryl Gibson.

“Dr. Mountjoy has represented FINA on many occasions and has done so in an equitable and fair manner. For many years, she was the sole female Bureau member and has worked to promote women in aquatic sports.”

A former artistic swimmer and family physician, Mountjoy is a professor in sports medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, the Clinical and Academic Lead of the Health and Performance Centre at the University of Guelph. She is a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency Health, Medical & Research Committee, and has been a member of the IOC Medical Commission (Games Group) since 2005. She believes her experiences in both her athletic and  professional career have equipped her to represent the Americas (UANA) as a FINA VP.

“I would serve in this new role with the same work ethic as well as integrity that I have in all of my roles. I would lead with the best interests of the sport and organization with athletes as the centre of all activities,” says Mountjoy.

“I would bring my Canadian values and principles to the governing table with me. I would also bring novel ideas by leveraging my extensive network from other international sport organizations and expertise outside of FINA.”

Mountjoy believes this new endeavour would allow her to have greater influence on the decisions made by FINA to enhance the athlete experience. Her platform for this position is centred on the following three key components:

• Sport development: Global development, modernization, relevance, enhancing the Olympic program.
• Athletes: improve the athlete experience (health, well-being, competition experience).
• Good governance: safe sport, gender equity, financial stability, ethical decision making.

“Practising medicine has taught me about people, and that athletes are people first,” says Mountjoy.

“My career objective is to enrich the development of the aquatic sports in the Americas as well as to enhance the growth and relevance of our disciplines in the Olympic program.”

The election for Vice-President of the Americas will take place on August 5th in Lima, Peru, during the Pan American Games. The Americas is the second largest continental group in FINA with 44 member countries.