Sydney Pickrem

Sydney Pickrem (born May 21, 1997) is a Canadian competitive swimmer who competed for Texas A&M University in College Station. A three-time Olympian, she placed sixth in the 200m individual medley at the 2016 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics as part of the Canadian 4×100 metre medley relay team. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, she participated in the women’s 200-meter individual medley and the 200-meter breaststroke, but finished out of medal contention. Accomplished in international competition, she is a seven-time World Aquatics Championships medallist.

Sydney Pickrem attended Joseph L. Carwise Middle School in Palm Harbor, Florida. She competed on the Carwise Girls Track Team while she was there.

Sydney Pickrem was born May 21, 1997 in Dunedin, Florida. She attended East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs where she swam for East Lake Coach Tim O'Keefe and would hold state championship individual titles in backstroke, breaststroke, and individual medley.

As a High School Freshman at East Lake, she captured a state championship in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:02.91, taking a strong lead throughout the event, and finishing only a second from the state record. She was named "Girls Swimmer of the Year" by the Tampa Bay Times. As a Sophomore at the 2012 Class 3A Florida State Championship meet, Pickrem won the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:01.40.

As an East Lake Junior, she was a conference champion in the 100 backstroke with a county record time of 56.25, and also held the county record time of 2:02.16 in the 200 individual medley. As an East Lake Senior in November, 2014 at the Class 4A Florida State Swimming and Diving Championships, Pickrem captured two more state titles with a first in the 200 Individual Medley with a time of 1:59.17, and another first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 54.72. With Pickrem's East Lake won the team state title that year.

She made her first senior national team in 2014, winning bronze medals in the 200m and 400m individual medley at the Canadian Swimming Trials to earn spots at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships.

Specializing in the breaststroke and individual medley, she was selected to the 2012 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. In 2013, she represented Canada at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in January where she won four medals: gold in the 200m backstroke and 200m IM, and silver in the 400m IM and 200m breaststroke. At the 4th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Dubai, Pickrem won a bronze in the 200m IM.

Pickrem attended Texas A&M University where she swam for Hall of Fame women's coach Steve Bultman. At Texas A&M, she was an All-American 11 times and as a more distinctive form of recognition was awarded the Texas A&M Athlete of the Year award in 2017 and 2018.