Rivard thrives in Huot’s wake
Decorated Paralympian is a mentor for young swimmer
Despite being submerged for much of his career, swimmer Benoit Huot has managed to keep the competitive flame burning, and it’s still alight even as he thinks about passing the torch.
The decorated 32-year-old from Saint-Hubert might well touch the wall for the last time at these Paralympics, his fifth. He talks around retirement, but even if he isn’t quite prepared to embrace the end of the race just yet, he has already done his part to ensure Canada’s Paralympics swim team stays afloat without him.
One need only point to the next one, the rather sensational workhorse Aurelie Rivard who will swim in seven events here, to see the impact Huot has had on the sport he loves so dearly. When Rivard was just 13, Huot was the first Paralympian she met. The significance of that meeting and the relationship it spawned grows as Rivard makes her many assaults on the podium in Rio.
“He really just took my hand and led the way,” said Rivard, now 20. “He told me all about the Paralympics and what it was like. He’s always been there for me when I was younger and had questions. He’s a great leader himself, just by how he trains in the pool. A lot of people look up to him.
“He’s been there forever and it’s such a hard job we’re doing every day. He has a life outside swimming, too, and it would be so easy for him just to leave. He’s one of the swimmers who work the hardest. He’s the first one in the pool, he does his job and he’s the last one out. And he still loves it.”
More than ever, it seems. Huot, who was born with a club foot, has 19 Paralympics medals already — six from Sydney 2000, another half dozen from Athens 2004, four bronze from Beijing 2008 and one of each colour from London 2012. He would love to add three more here, but he didn’t stay in the pool through the last quadrennial just for the accolades. It was an opportunity to spread the message on home soil at the 2013 worlds in Montreal and the 2015 Parapan Ams in Toronto.
“The motivation of staying in the sport after London 2012 was there, but it was there not necessarily for performance but to increase
visibility, credibility of our movement. I wanted to stay active in the sport to bring awareness and educate Canadians.”
There were ups and downs of performance and motivation in the first three years after London, which saw him win his ninth gold medal. The Shark, as he is sometimes called, rises to the big occasions best.
“I plan to embrace the moment and know that those could be the last couple weeks or months of my career. It was an amazing adventure. The last 20 years were incredible. Hopefully I can finish on a good note and have the time of my life.”
That said, he isn’t committed to retirement just yet. That’s a decision to be made after Rio, after Rivard has caught the torch. Huot calls her the next Penny Oleksiak. She’ll certainly be a leader in and out of the pool for a young Canadian swim team.
“Only four girls have been to London (2012). With all the experience I achieved in the last six years, I can really give that to the youngsters and help them. I’ve been there. I know what it’s like. A lot of them are nervous. I remember when I was their age, I was the same way.”