By Sam Cortes, Communications Coordinator
A backyard swimming pool, supportive family and coaches, and a burning competitive drive put Olympic swimmer Kelly Stefanyshyn in the right lane for success in her sport.
Stefanyshyn, a Winnipeg native who swam with the Manta and Kodiak clubs, became a backstroke specialist who won nine international medals over 11 years on Canada’s National Swim Team.
“For me, swimming was a lifestyle, and it became my life. It’s where I found my community, it’s where I found my best friends, it’s where I found my confidence,” Stefanyshyn said. “I owe the world to my sport through the skills that I learned in it that have helped me in my adulthood and career.”
At the 1999 Pan Am Games in Winnipeg, Stefanyshyn earned her greatest international result when she won gold in the women’s 100-metre backstroke, silver in the 4×100-metre medley, and bronze in the 200-metre backstroke before a hometown crowd that included family and friends.
Stefanyshyn went on to the 2000 Olympic Games at age 18. She earned sixth place with the Canadian women’s 4×100-metre medley relay team, finished eighth in the 200-metre backstroke and competed in the 100-metre backstroke semifinals, finishing 10th.
Kelly grew up swimming in the family pool but decided at age 10 that swimming was her sport after she watched the 1992 Olympics on television and saw Mark Tewksbury win gold in the men’s 100-metre backstroke. A few months later, after her first swim meet at the Pan Am Pool, her competitive fire was ignited while her overly excited coach told her parents, “she got three gold times! They don’t do that in their first swim meet! We might have an Olympian here!”
While attending Collège Miles Macdonell Collegiate, Stefanyshyn won two silver medals at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and a silver and a bronze in the 1999 World Short Course Championships. She won 18 gold, 12 silver, and one bronze for UBC in five Canadian Interuniversity Sport seasons (2001-2006). She was Team Canada’s co-flag bearer at the 2003 FISU World University Games, the 2006 CIS Women’s Swimming Athlete of the Year and, in 2015, was inducted into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame.
Stefanyshyn, now 41, lives in Montana with husband Kyle Herda and their twin sons Devin and Ryker, and she works as a group fitness instructor as well as teaches swimming lessons.
The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame is proud to recognize Kelly Stefanyshyn as one of our inductees for the class of 2023.
Join Us at the Annual Induction Ceremony
Want to be there for Kelly’s induction, along with the rest of the class of 2023? Hear their stories and relive the defining moments that have shaped the sport community over the past five decades. Plus, enjoy cocktails and small bites in an intimate celebration with our honoured guests.
Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Thursday, November 2, 2023
7:30 p.m.
Victoria Inn, Winnipeg MB
