Pamela Rai facts for kids
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | "Pam" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | March 29, 1966 New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada |
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| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 57 kg (126 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Hyack Swim Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | University of Victoria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Pamela Leila Rai, born on March 29, 1966, in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, is a talented former Canadian swimmer. She competed in both freestyle and butterfly events. Pamela proudly represented Canada from 1980 to 1987.
Her biggest achievement was winning an Olympic bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. She earned this medal in the 4 × 100-metre medley relay race. Her teammates for this exciting event were Anne Ottenbrite, Reema Abdo, and Michelle MacPherson.
Contents
Pamela Rai's Amazing Swimming Career
Pamela Rai had a very successful career, winning many medals for Canada. Besides her Olympic bronze, she also won a silver medal at the 1983 Pan American Games. This was for the 4 × 100-metre freestyle relay.
In 1986, she won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. This gold was also for the 4 × 100-metre freestyle relay. Her strong performances made her a well-known athlete.
From 1984 to 1987, Pamela swam for the University of Victoria. During this time, she was one of the best university swimmers in Canada. She was named the University of Victoria Athlete of the Year in 1986. The City of Victoria also recognized her as Athlete of the Year in 1985.
A Family of Athletes
Pamela's father, Harinder Jit Singh Rai, was also a talented athlete. In 1964, he was the first person of Indian background from Canada to qualify for the Olympic Games. He played field hockey. His amazing skills helped Canada's field hockey team get into the Olympics for the very first time.
Sadly, just before the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, her father was removed from the team. This was because officials chose a different group of players. Pamela dedicated her 1984 Olympic success to her father. He passed away from leukemia just three months before she competed in the games.
Life After Swimming
After her swimming career, Pamela Rai became a high school teacher. She taught math and social justice. She is also a certified yoga instructor. She trained in India in the Sivananda style of yoga.
Pamela's achievements have been recognized in many ways. She is a respected member of several Halls of Fame. These include the BC Sports Hall of Fame, the Swim BC Hall of Fame, the University of Victoria Legacy Hall of Fame, and the Delta Sports Hall of Fame. She holds a special place in history as the first woman of Indian ancestry to win an Olympic medal. She is also the first Indo-Canadian to achieve this honor.
See also
In Spanish: Pamela Rai para niños
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women)
External links
- Pamela Rai at the Canadian Olympic CommitteeLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 22: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). (archive)
- Pamela Rai at Olympics.com (archived: OlympicChannel.com and Olympic.org)
- Lua error in Module:Sports_reference at line 41: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
