Margaret (Maggie) Mac Neil

Biography

Maggie Mac Neil was a triple medallist in her Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020. A day after winning silver with the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay, Mac Neil captured gold in the 100m butterfly in Canadian and Americas record time of 55.59 seconds. She finished off the Games by winning bronze and setting a Canadian record with the women’s 4x100m medley relay for which she swam the butterfly leg. She was named the Best Female Athlete of Tokyo 2020 at the ANOC Awards.

In her debut at the World Aquatics Championships in 2019, Mac Neil delivered an incredible swim to win the world title in the 100m butterfly. She broke the Canadian, Americas, and Commonwealth record with her time of 55.83 seconds. The world championships were her first senior international competition and she defeated Swede Sarah Sjöström – the reigning Olympic champion, four-time world champion, and world record holder – in the final. Mac Neil also won a pair of bronze medals with the women’s 4x100m freestyle and 4x100m medley relays, breaking the national records in both. She was named Swimming Canada’s Breakout Swimmer of the Year.

A few months after her Olympic success, Mac Neil won five medals at the short course (25m) 2021 World Swimming Championships, including gold medals in the 100m butterfly and 50m backstroke. Though she was victorious in the 100m butterfly at the 2022 Canadian Trials, Mac Neil decided to only compete in relay events at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships to prioritize her mental health. She helped Canada win silver in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay and bronze in the women’s 4x100m medley relay. She swam in the heats of the 4x100m mixed freestyle relay in which Canada went on to win silver.   

Mac Neil returned to swimming individual events at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She won five medals there, highlighted by her gold in the 100m butterfly along with four relay medals. At the short course (25m) 2022 World Swimming Championships, Mac Neil won six medals. That included three golds in the 100m butterfly, 50m butterfly, and 50m backstroke. She was named best female swimmer of the meet.

In 2023, Mac Neil returned to the 100m butterfly podium at the World Aquatics Championships, winning the silver medal. She also won bronze in the women’s 4x100m medley relay, bringing her to eight career medals at the long course worlds. A few months later, Mac Neil made history when she won five gold medals and seven total medals at Santiago 2023. That set a record for most gold medals won by any Canadian athlete at one Pan Am Games. She and swimming teammate Mary-Sophie Harvey became the first Canadian women to win seven medals at one Pan Am Games.

Mac Neil had previously represented Canada at the 2018 Junior Pan Pacific Championships where she set a meet record to win gold in the 100m butterfly. She also contributed to three relay medals. She had also competed at the 2016 Junior Pan Pacs and 2015 FINA World Junior Championships.

Mac Neil competed collegiately for the University of Michigan for four seasons. In 2019 she was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year after winning four conference titles. At the 2019 NCAA Championships, she finished second in the 100-yard butterfly. In both 2020 and 2021 Mac Neil was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Year. As a sophomore in 2020, she was the University of Michigan Female Athlete of the Year after winning six titles at the Big Ten Championships. In 2021, she won the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships.

For her final year of NCAA eligibility in 2022-23, Mac Neil transferred to Louisiana State University. She won the 50-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships in an NCAA record time of 20.79 seconds. She finished her collegiate career as a 25-time All-American.   

A Little More About Maggie

Getting into the sport: Started swimming at age 2… Began competing with the London Aquatic Club at age 8… Was drawn to swimming to make friends and support her competitive spirit… Outside Interests: Enjoys reading, sewing, and travelling… Has played violin since the age of 5 and clarinet since age 12… Working towards a Masters of Science at Louisiana State University… Odds and Ends: Has said the biggest obstacle she’s had to overcome is dealing with severe asthma… Inspired by American swimmer Missy Franklin… Favourite quote: “The comfort zone is a great place, but nothing ever grows there”… Pre-race rituals include splashing herself 15 times with water before she gets on the blocks and kicking the backfoot plate three times…