Hometown: Durham Bridge, New Brunswick

Age: 21

Jesse Canney hails from Durham Bridge, New Brunswick and has been an avid swimmer since he was little. Jesse joined Special Olympics when he was 11 and has since been a regular fixture in his local swim program practices and competitions. In 2012, at age 15, Jesse’s Special Olympics coach recommended Jesse take his swimming to the next level, enrolling in the Fredericton Aquanauts Swim Team (FAST), which saw him swimming alongside ‘generic’ athletes from his area. Jesse has since increased his training, swimming once a week with Special Olympics and 7 times a week with FAST. Jesse’s greatest accomplishments so far in his young career have been attending various Special Olympics Provincial Games in New Brunswick, Special Olympics National Games in Vancouver, Can AM Para Championships and Trials in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and most recently, the 2017 Canada Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba.