Reema Abdo (born May 19, 1963) is a Canadian former

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimme ...

swimmer and Olympic bronze medallist. Abdo was born in Aden, in the Federation of South Arabia, and became a naturalized Canadian citizen.

Swimming career

Abdo began her swimming career in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toront ...

, at age 12. In 1976 she moved, with her family, to

Trenton, Ontario Trenton (2001 population 16,770) is a large unincorporated community in Central Ontario in the municipality of Quinte West, Ontario, Canada. Located on the Bay of Quinte, it is the starting point for the Trent-Severn Waterway, which continues n ...

, and joined Trenton Dolphin Swim Club, where coach George Sulk trained her. Over her career Abdo garnered a total of 14 national championship medals: 7 Gold, 4 Silver and 3 Bronze - all in her specialty, the

. In 1984 she was the Canadian record holder in the short course 100-metre and 200-metre backstroke. Abdo represented Canada at the USSR-Germany-Canada Tri-meet, the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 British Empire Game ...

, the

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and " Olympiad". The Universiade is referred ...

, the Pan Pacific Championships and the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where she won a bronze medal in the 4 × 100 m medley relay with teammates Anne Ottenbrite, Michelle MacPherson and Pamela Rai.Ontario Aquatic Hall of Fame
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Olympics

Competed for Canada at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. There she won the bronze medal in the 4x100-metre medley relay, alongside Anne Ottenbrite, Michelle MacPherson and Pamela Rai.

Coaching

Abdo attended both

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in t ...

and the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...

and following her exceptional swimming career, she coached swimming for several years where she was a successful age-group and university coach. She continues an active lifestyle competing in

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the d ...

s and long distance running. Abdo is a member of the

Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincor ...

, out of Prince Edward.

References

External links

Profile Canadian Olympic Committee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdo, Reema 1963 births Living people Canadian female backstroke swimmers People from Aden Naturalized citizens of Canada Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Olympic swimmers of Canada People from Prince Edward County, Ontario Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Swimmers from Ontario Yemeni emigrants to Canada Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Canada Canadian sportspeople of Asian descent Ontario Provincial Police officers Universiade medalists in swimming Universiade bronze medalists for Canada Medalists at the 1983 Summer Universiade

Swimming career

Olympics

Coaching

See also

References

External links