Nadine Rolland (born May 8, 1975) is a Canadian former competitive

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

who specialized in sprint freestyle events. She represented Canada at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, and later became an official member of the Canadian squad at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

in Manchester, England, following a controversy on the swimming federation's decision to forbid her from the team. Roland competed in the women's 50-metre freestyle at the

in Sydney. She finished third in a FINA A-cut of 25.94 from the Canadian Olympic Trials in Winnipeg, Manitoba, but offered another chance to earn a spot for the team, after

Marianne Limpert Marianne Louise Limpert (born October 10, 1972) is a Canadian former freestyle and medley swimmer who competed in the Summer Olympics for Canada in 1992, 1996 and 2000, and won the silver medal in the 200-metre individual medley in 1996 in A ...

decided to pull herself out of the event. She challenged seven other swimmers in heat eight, including U.S. legend Dara Torres and Australia's overwhelming favorite

Susie O'Neill Susan O'Neill, (born 2 August 1973) is an Australian former competitive swimmer from Brisbane, Queensland, nicknamed "Madame Butterfly". She achieved eight Olympic Games medals during her swimming career. Early life Susan (Susie) O'Neill was ...

. Diving in with a 0.75-second deficit, Rolland scorched the field to hold off O'Neill's teammate

Sarah Ryan Sarah Michelle Ryan, OAM (born 20 February 1977) is an Australian former sprint freestyle swimmer, who won relay medals at three consecutive Olympics from the 1996 Summer Olympics to the 2004 Summer Olympics. Career Coming from Adelaide, S ...

for a seventh seed by a slim margin in a time of 26.04. Rolland missed the semifinals by a small fraction of a second, as she placed twenty-second overall out of 74 swimmers in the prelims.

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* (2000 Summer Olympics) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolland, Nadine 1975 births Living people Canadian female freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers for Canada Swimmers from Montreal Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Canada