Janice Birch (née Bremner) (born July 15, 1974) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

competitor and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

medalist in

synchronized swimming Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming) or artistic swimming is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by FINA (the ''Fédérati ...

Career

Birch began synchronized swimming in the late 1980s, but was most successful in the 1990s. Birch competed with the Canadian Synchronized Swimming Team, where they won a Silver Medal in 1994, at the

World Aquatics Championships The FINA World Championships or World Aquatics Championships are the World Championships for aquatics sports: swimming, diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water polo. They are run by FINA, and all swimming event ...

, and again at the 1995

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is hel ...

. In the 1996 Summer Olympics in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

, Birch and team members

Christine Larsen Christine Larsen (born December 15, 1967) is a Canadians, Canadian competitor in synchronized swimming and Olympic medalist. She competed for Canada and received a silver medal in synchronized team swimming at the 1996 Summer Olympics in A ...

, Sylvie Fréchette, and

Valérie Hould-Marchand Valérie Hould-Marchand (born May 29, 1980 in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, Canada) is a retired Canada, Canadian synchronized swimming, synchronized swimmer and Olympic medalist. Career Hould-Marchand was a member of the Canadian team that ...

, won another Silver Medal. Soon after the 1996 Olympic Games, Birch retired from competitive swimming and began studying at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

. Birch helped carry the

Olympic Torch The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olymp ...

for the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May Doan Nancy GreeneWayne Gr ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

Personal life

Birch graduated from

UBC The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top three ...

in 1999, and worked in fitness and health education. She now resides with her family in the Lower Mainland in

and is married with four children.

References

External links

* 1974 births Living people Canadian synchronized swimmers Olympic silver medalists for Canada Olympic synchronized swimmers for Canada Synchronized swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in synchronized swimming Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in synchronized swimming Synchronized swimmers at the 1995 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games {{Canada-Olympic-medalist-stub