Joanne Malar
Joanne Susan Malar (born October 30, 1975) is a former medley swimmer from Canada, who competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1992.
Swimming was important to her and her family, because her family camped often. She has two sisters and a brother, and speaks French. She attended McMaster University and St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School.
Malar’s first pool experience was when she was five weeks old. She started racing at 5. At 10, she set her first provincial record. Two years later, Malar went to her first national swim meet, the trials for the 1988 Olympic Games. Besides being a talented swimmer, she was a gifted basketball player. In grade nine, she chose swimming over basketball as her preferred sport.
When Malar began her swimming career, she impressed many people with her unexpected success early on. She began swimming competitively with HAC (Hamilton Aquatic Club) and still currently holds 20 SC records and 25 LC. At the 1991 Pan American Games, she won two silvers and a bronze. At the 1994 LC World Championships, she came in fourth for the 400m Individual Medley. In 1995, she won four golds and a bronze.
In 1995, at the 1995 FINA Short Course World Championships, she won two gold medals. That same year at the 1995 Pan American Games, she won a bronze and two gold medals, having developed a new swimming style.
There were high expectations for Malar to medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Due to her potential, she appeared on the box for Kellogg's Special K (in a black bathing suit) and a television ad for Salon Selectives Shampoo conditioner. In the 400m Medley, considered her strongest event, she failed to make the finals. In the 200m Medley, Malar finished fourth just narrowly missing the podium, while Canadian teammate Marianne Limpert took the silver. Ireland's Michelle Smith won that race, ending up with three gold medals from the Atlanta Games.
...
Wikipedia