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Nancy Garapick of Halifax is shown during the women's 200-metre backstroke swimming event at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, July 25, 1976. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Doug Ball

Former Canadian swim star, Olympic medallist Nancy Garapick dead at 64

Apr 8, 2026 | 5:35 PM

Former Canadian swim star and two-time Olympic medallist Nancy Garapick has died. She was 64.

Swimming Canada said Garapick died peacefully at home in Langley, B.C., on Monday.

The Halifax native set a world record as a 13-year-old in the 200-metre backstroke on April 27, 1975, at the Eastern Canadian Swimming Championships in Brantford, Ont., while a member of the Halifax Trojan Aquatic Club.

Later that year, Garapick was named Canada’s youngest-ever female athlete of the year at age 14.