Javier Acevedo

Biography

Javier Acevedo broke onto the senior international scene at Rio 2016 as the youngest male member of Canada’s swimming team. A year later, at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships, he captured his first senior international medals as part of the mixed 4x100m freestyle and mixed 4x100m medley relay teams, winning bronze in both. At the end of 2017, he was named Swimming Canada’s Co-Male Swimmer of the Year.

At the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships, Acevedo made the finals of all five events in which he competed. In 2019, Acevedo was part of Team Canada at the Pan Am Games in Lima where he won silver with the mixed 4x100m medley relay and reached the finals in three individual events, highlighted by a fourth-place finish in the 200m backstroke.

Acevedo competed at his second Olympic Games at Tokyo 2020 as a member of the mixed 4x100m medley relay squad. He returned to the World Aquatics Championships in 2022 where he won a silver medal in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay. He followed up with four medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, including an individual bronze in the 50m backstroke.

Acevedo won six medals on the Swimming World Cup circuit in the fall of 2022. He went on to win two medals at the short course 2022 World Swimming Championships (25m), taking silver in the 100m IM and bronze in the mixed 4x50m medley relay.

Acevedo won five relay medals at the Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games. He just missed out on an individual podium with his fourth-place finish in the 100m freestyle. He continued to be a key member of Canadian relay teams at the World Aquatics Championships, finishing fifth with the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay in 2023, followed by fourth place finishes in the men’s 4x100m medley and mixed 4x100m freestyle relays in 2024.    

Acevedo’s first international medals came at the 2014 Australian Age Group Championships, where he stood on the podium in three events, taking gold in the 100m freestyle, silver in the 50m freestyle and bronze in the 100m backstroke. He went on to make the 100m freestyle final at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games.

A year later at the 2015 World Juniors he won gold in the 4x100m mixed freestyle relay and silver in the 50m backstroke. He just missed the podium in the 200m IM by 0.08 of a second. Acevedo had qualified for the world juniors with his outstanding performances at the 2015 Canadian Trials where he was the youngest competitor in the 100m freestyle and 200m IM finals, finishing third both times against swimmers who went on to compete at the Pan Am Games. He was named Swimming Canada’s Junior Male Swimmer of the Year for 2015.

Competing in the NCAA for the University of Georgia Bulldogs, he set the school record in the 200-yard backstroke. In 2020-21, he earned First Team CSCAA All-America citations in three individual events and two relays.

A Little More About Javier

Getting into the Sport: Started swimming at age 7 when his mom put him and his sisters into the sport… Started competing seriously at age 12… Outside Interests: Enjoys playing beach volleyball, hiking, tobogganing in the winter… Graduated from the University of Georgia in 2021 with a degree in Psychology… As an RBC Olympian works in the Marketing and Citizenship Team… Odds and Ends: Had Olympic dreamed sparked by watching the Canadian athletes participate in the opening ceremonies at Beijing 2008 and London 2012… Favourite Canadian Olympian is Victor Davis because of how he carried himself as an athlete while being passionate and successful in swimming… Always tries to travel with peanut butter… Nickname: Javi… Favourite motto: “The results are the evidence of your decisions”…