2022 Canadian Trials: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2022 CANADIAN SWIMMING TRIALS

• April 5th-April 10th, 2022
• Saanich Commonwealth Place, Victoria, BC
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• Live Stream
• Qualification Standards

WEDNESDAY FINALS HEAT SHEET

Night two finals of the 2022 Canadian Swim trials will consist of the 50 back, 100 fly, women’s 1500 free, men’s 800 free, and the para 50 back and 400 free. Spots on Team Canada will be on the line for the upcoming 2022 FINA World Championships and the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

In the women’s 50 back, we will get to see Olympic silver medalist and Canadian record holder Kylie Masse try to win her second event of the meet after placing first in the 100 back last night. Behind her, Ingrid Wilm, Kayla Sanchez, and Mary-Sophie Harvey will be fighting for the second spot as they were seperated by 0.26 seconds in prelims.

Maggie MacNeil, the reigning Olympic champion, will be swimming in the women’s 100 fly. She qualified second in prelims with a time of 58.78. That time is a relatively pedestrian one for a swimmer who has been 55.59 before, so there is a great chance that she could have much more in store for finals. Katerine Savard comes in as the top seed from prelims with a time of 57.86.

On the men’s side, Josh Liendo came 0.18 seconds of his 100 fly Canadian record in prelims, and comes in as the top seed with a time of 51.58. Tonight gives him another shot at cracking the record. Finlay Knox, who broke the 200 IM Canadian record last night, is the second seed with a 53.55.

WOMEN’S 50 BACK PARA – FINALS

Podium:

1. Nikki Ens, S3 (LASER) – 1:12.72
2. Aly Van Wyck-Smart, S3 (VVAC) – 1:16.01
3. Jordan Tucker, S4 (GMAC) – 1:08.76

Despite adding over a second from her prelims time, Nikki Ens took the national title in the women’s 50 back with a time of 1:12.72.

WOMEN’S 50 BACK – FINALS

• World Record – 26.98, Xiang Liu, 2018
• Canadian Record – 27.52, Kylie Masse, 2022
• FINA ‘A’ Standard – 28.22

Podium:

1. Kylie Masse (TSC) – 27.18
2. Ingrid Wilm (CASC) – 27.80
3. Mary-Sophie Harvey (CAMO) – 28.32

Kylie Masse led from start to finish to win the women’s 50 back with a time of 27.18, crushing her old Canadian record of 27.52 by over three-tenths. Her time is also the ninth-fastest of all time, and just 0.2 seconds off of the world record. Masse was already at the top of the world rankings with her 27.52 from February. This swim marks the second time in the 2021-22 season that Masse has downed her best time in this event.

Ingrid Wilm, who missed out on qualifying for the worlds team by just 0.08 in the 100 back, redeemed herself tonight to take second in a time of 27.80. The swim was faster than her previous personal best of 27.98, and ranks her #5 in the world this year. However, 50 stroke races are not selection events for worlds at this meet, which means that spot on the worlds team is not guaranteed for Wilm despite her going under the FINA ‘A’ cut of 28.22.

Mary-Sophie Harvey , who qualified for worlds in the 200 IM last night, was just 0.02 slower than her prelims time to take third in this event with a 28.32. Kayla Sanchez, who qualified in third during prelims, scratched the event and did not swim in finals.

MEN’S 50 BACK – FINALS

• World Record – 23.80, Kliment Kolesnikov, 2021
• Canadian Record – 25.13, Acevedo/Wood, 2017
• FINA ‘A’ Standard – 25.17

Podium:

1. Loic Courville Fortin (CAMO) – 25.98
2. Tayden De Pol (UBCT) – 26.02
3. Tristian Jankovics (WCW) – 26.37

17-year old Loic Courville Fortin barely dipped under the 26 second barrier to win the men’s 50 back with a time of 25.98. Tayden De Pol, the top Canadian seed out of prelims, finished 0.04 seconds behind him with a 26.02, while Tristan Jankovics, another high schooler, dropped nearly a second from his prelims time to finish third with a 26.37.

None of the men were under the FINA ‘A’ cut tonight.

Kacper Stokowski and Evangelos Makrygiannis, who swam the fastest times in prelims, are not eligibile to swim in the finals as they are not Canadian.

WOMEN’S 100 FLY – FINALS

• World Record – 55.48, Sarah Sjostrom, 2016
• Canadian Record – 55.59, Maggie MacNeil, 2021
• FINA ‘A’ Standard – 58.33

Podium:

1. Maggie MacNeil (LAC) – 57.13
2. Katerine Savard (CAMO) – 58.01
3. Rebecca Smith (UCSC) – 58.76

After qualifying for the finals with the second-fastest time, reigning Olympic and World Champion Maggie MacNeil dropped over a second from her prelims time to win in 57.13. She led from start to finish, going out in a 26.88 and slowed down a bit on her back half to close in 30.25. MacNeil’s time sits as the third-fastest in the world behind Zhang Yufei and Claire Curzan.

Katerine Savard, the top qualifier out of prelims, was a little slower in finals with a 58.01. However, that time is still under the FINA ‘A’ standard, securing her a spot on the worlds team. Rebecca Smith was faster than her prelims time of 59.22 to finish third with a 58.76, but was a few tenths shy of the FINA ‘A’ cut.

16-year-old Ella Jansen was fourth with a time of 59.39, just 0.12 off her best time of 59.27 from Olympic trials last year. 20th place finisher Maxine Clark went a 1:01.55, which is an Alberta 13-14 age group record. In addition, the time makes her the second-fastest 13 year old Canadian of all time, just behind Mary Sophie-Harvey’s 1:01.15. Penny Oleksiak holds the 13-14 National Age Group record at 1:00.03.

However, MacNeil said in an interview with CBC that she would not be competing in individual events at worlds this summer to prioritize her mental health.

“It’s hard to stay at the top and that pressure really got to me. I need a chill summer. I don’t want to be out of international competition. I want to train and compete well for Canada but I needed that little bit of a let up I guess,” MacNeil said to CBC. “Your mental and physical health comes before you as an athlete. So they [Swimming Canada] definitely have been thinking of us as a person first which is so important. I’m grateful for that.”

MEN’S 100 FLY – FINALS

• World Record – 49.45, Caeleb Dressel, 2021
• Canadian Record – 51.40, Josh Liendo, 2021
• FINA ‘A’ Standard – 51.96

Podium: 

1. Josh Liendo (NYAC) – 50.88
2. Finlay Knox (SCAR) – 51.86
3. Keir Ogilive (UBCT) – 53.49

Rising 19-year-old superstar Josh Liendo demolished his Canadian record by over half a second to win the men’s 100 fly with a time of 50.88. He went out fast, opening with a 23.63 split – the fastest in the field by 0.51 seconds. He then closed his race with a 27.25 back half. Liendo’s swim is the second-fastest in the world this year, just behind Naoki Mizunuma’s 50.86.

Finlay Knox, who broke the Canadian record in the 200 IM last night, shaved nearly a second off his previous best time of 52.65 from Canadian Olympic trials last year to finish second in a 51.86. He got under the FINA ‘A’ standard of 51.96 by a tenth of a second, meaning that he will join Liendo to qualify in the event at worlds. Keir Ogilvie was a few tenths faster than his prelims time to capture third in a 53.49.

WOMEN’S 1500 FREE – FINALS

• World Record – 15:20.48, Katie Ledecky, 2018
• Canadian Record – 15:57.15, Brittany MacLean, 2014
• FINA ‘A’ Standard – 16:29.57

Podium:

1. Abby Dunford (SAND) – 16:20.26
2. Katrina Bellio (ESWIM) – 16:34.24
3. Emma Finlin (EKSC) – 16:42.09

16-year-old Abby Dunford, who trains with the Sandpipers of Nevada, dropped a whopping 18 seconds from her previous best time of 16:38.75 to win the women’s 1500 free with a time of 16:20.26. She was under the FINA ‘A’ standard of 16:29.57 to qualify for worlds this summer, her first international meet swimming for Team Canada. Dunford’s time puts her just outside the top ten in the world this year.

Katrina Bellio, a UCLA commit for the Class of 2026, finished second in a 16:34.23. Bellio represented Canada at the Tokyo Olympics and finished 20th with a time of 16:24.37, but her time from tonight will not qualify for world championships this summer. Emma Finlin broke 17 minutes for the first time to swim to a third place finish with a 16:42.09.

MEN’S 800 FREE – FINALS

• World Record – 7:32.12, Zhang Lin, 2009
• Canadian Record – 7:41.86, Ryan Cochrane, 2011
• FINA ‘A’ Standard – 7:53.11

Podium:

1. Eric Brown (PCSC) – 7:59.68
2. Alex Axon (MAC) – 8:02.24
3. Sebastian Paulins (BRANT) – 8:05.55

Eric Brown was the only man under 8 minutes to win the men’s 800 free. Brown and Alex Axon were close together in the first half of the race, but Brown pulled ahead to take the win by 2.56 seconds. Brown shed a few tenths from his best time of 7:59.87 from Olympic trials last year, but was far from the FINA ‘A’ cut of 7:53.68. Brown is committed to the University of Florida, and will be competing for their strong men’s distance squad starting in the 2022-23 school year.

Axon dropped over two seconds from his personal best to take second in 8:02.24. Sebastian Paulins was over 15 seconds faster than his best time, placing third with a 8:05.55.

WOMEN’S 400 FREE PARA – FINALS

Podium: 

1. Sabrina Duchesne, S7 (UL) – 5:35.87
2. Abi Tripp, S8 (CNQ) – 5:17.25
3. Katie Cosgriffe, S10 (BAD) – 5:04.23

Canadian record holder Sabrine Duchesne, the top seed out of prelims, dropped seven seconds to win the women’s 400 free final.

MEN’S 400 FREE PARA – FINALS

Podium:

1. Philippe Vachon, S8 (MEGO)- 4:38.92
2. Zach Zona, S8 (NHAC) – 4:55.62
3. Matthew Cabraja, S11 (COBRA) – 5:00.46

Philippe Vachon was just over a second off of his Canadian record to win the men’s para 400 free with a time of 4:38.92.

WOMEN’S 200 FREE PARA – FINALS

Podium:

1. Angela Marina, S14 (BRANT) – 2:17.70
2. Emma Van Dyk, S14 (GHAC) – 2:25.36
3. Jessica Tinney, S5 (KYPS) – 3:41.29

Canadian record holder S14 Angela Marina was just off her prelims time by a little less than a second, but still won the 200 free with a time of 2:17.70.

MEN’S 200 FREE PARA – FINALS

Podium:

1. Nicholas Bennett, S14 (RAC) – 1:54.82
2. Tyson MacDonald, S14 (ROW) – 2:02.56
3. Connor Bissett, S14 (OSC) – 2:07.68

Nicholas Bennett, who won the 100 breast yesterday, touched first in the 200 free with a time of 1:54.82.