November's Athlete: Rachel Riddell

Meet Rachel Riddell! November's athlete of the month!

Check out her slideshow on YouTube!

Birth date: September 5, 1984

Position: Goalie

Height: 5’10”

Hometown: Victoria, BC

Current Residence: Montreal, QC

Current Club: Pacific Storm

Education: Degree in Sociology from Concordia University ‘09

Years on the National Team: 8



                                                                                

Rachel started her aquatic sports career as a competitive swimmer when she was 9.  She made the switch to water polo following in her older sisters’ footsteps. The rest is history.  She has been representing Pacific Storm on the domestic scene since she was a cadet. She then played on the Junior National Team for two cycles from 1999 to 2003.  She helped her team secure the Gold Medal at Junior World Aquatic Championships in Calgary in 2003 when she stopped the last penalty shot in a nail-biting shoot-out.  Her outstanding performance earned her the title of ‘Most Valuable Goalie’ of the tournament.  Rachel has been playing on the senior team since 2003, when she attended the Pan-American Games in Santo Domingo, and the World Championships in Barcelona. Since then she has helped her team earn a number of medals, including a bronze at World Championships in 2005, and a silver at World Championships in 2009 (where she again earned the title of ‘Most Valuable Goalie’).  She is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Rachel is currently working on her Graduate Diploma in Business Administration at John Molson School of Business. And when she is not training, or studying, she enjoys Bikram and Moksha Yoga.   

Some of her career highlights include: 

2003: FINA World Junior Aquatic Championships (Calgary, Alberta) - 1^st

2003: Pan-American Games (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) – 2^nd

2003: FINA World Aquatic Championships (Barcelona, Spain) – 4^th

2004: Olympic Games (Athens, Greece) – 7th

2005: FINA World Senior Championships (Montreal, Quebec) - 3^rd

2007: Pan-American Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) – 2^nd

2007: FINA World Aquatic Championships (Melbourne, Australia) – 6th

2009: FINA World League Super Final (Kirishi, Russia) - 2nd

2009: FINA World Aquatic Championships (Rome, Italy) - 2nd

2009: FINA World Aquatic Championships (Rome, Italy) - MVG