Jennifer Song is a synchronized swimmer originally from South Korea who represented Canada at the Olympic Games after gaining Canadian citizenship in 2001. Song helped the Canadian team finish in 4th place overall at the 2008 Olympic Games and is also a 2007 Pan American Games team silver medallist.
Song’s Olympic dream was born as a child growing up in Seoul, South Korea, where she first tried synchronized swimming. After realising she could never become a top international synchronized swimmer in South Korea, she moved with her family to Vancouver, Canada, before settling in Calgary in 1999. Song was aware that synchronized swimming had a big following in Canada – the sport started there in the 1920s and is one of Canada’s most popular amateur sports – but the move to a new country required Song to adapt to life both in and beyond the pool, learning a new language and attending local schools.
Completely dedicated to her sport, Song entered numerous competitions and soon made the junior national team, her Olympic dream finally on track. She made the national “A” team in 2005 and moved to Montreal where she trained at the Aquatic Centre of Excellence. In 2007 she won a silver medal with the Canadian team at the Pan American Games, and her dream came true when she made the team for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
