2023 Canadian Trials: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap

2023 CANADIAN SWIMMING TRIALS

• March 28 – April 2, 2023
• Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre – Toronto, Ontario
• TPASC
• Long Course Meters
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Live Stream
• Day 1 Prelims Live Recap | Day 1 Finals Live Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Live Recap | Day 2 Finals Live Recap
• Day 3 Prelim Heat Sheets

Summer McIntosh will be back in the water just over 36 hours removed from stunningly breaking the world record in the women’s 400 freestyle, taking on the prelims of the 200 IM on Thursday morning.

The heats session will also feature 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke prelims, along with the 50 fly and 100 free for the para athletes.

Maggie MacNeil and Josh Liendo, both coming off wins in the 100 fly last night (and a new Canadian Record for Liendo), headline the 50 free fields, while 200 breast winners Sydney Pickrem and Brayden Taivassalo will be among the favorites in the women’s and men’s 100 breast, respectively.

Pickrem is notably entered in both the 100 breast and 200 IM this morning, the latter generally having been her best event over the course of her career.

Finlay Knox is the top seed and National Record holder in the men’s 200 IM, and had a strong swim to take third last night in the 100 fly (52.11). The runner-up in that event, Ilya Kharun, will also be one to watch here.

WOMEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY MULTI-CLASS PARA

1. Danielle Dorris S7 (CNBO), 34.35
2. Tess Routliffe S7 (UL), 36.79
3. Jordan Tucker S4 (RCAQ), 53.99
4. Myriam Soliman S7 (MUST), 44.30

Danielle Dorris, the reigning Paralympic and Para world champion in the S7 50 fly, led the multi-class event this morning in a time of 34.35. Dorris’ best time stands at 32.99 from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

MEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY MULTI-CLASS PARA

1. Tyson Jacob S5 (LLOU), 48.89

Tyson Jacob, competing in the S5 category, was the lone swimmer in the men’s multi-class 50 fly event. His prelim time of 48.89 was just over three seconds off his PB set last summer (45.65).

WOMEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

• Canadian Record: 24.26 – Taylor Ruck (2018)
• FINA ‘A’ Cut: 25.04

Finals Qualifiers

1. Hanna Henderson (ESWIM), 25.49
2. Hannah Cornish (USC), 25.60
3. Katerine Savard (CAMO), 25.68
4. Maggie MacNeil (LAC), 25.79 (swimming butterfly)
5. Brooklyn Douthwright (CNBO), 25.89
6. Roxane Lemieux (NN), 26.01
7. Ella Mazurek (UNCAN), 26.07
8. Bobbi Kennett (UNCAN), 26.13
9. Elan Daley (ESWIM), 26.18
10. Sarah Fournier (CNQ), 26.20

Despite swimming the race butterfly, Maggie MacNeil qualified fourth overall for tonight’s final of the 50 free, putting up a time of 25.79 from the first circle-seeded heat to knock nearly two-tenths off her personal best time in the 50 fly (25.97).

MacNeil’s time was also just 17 one-hundredths shy of the Canadian Record in the 50 fly, held by Penny Oleksiak at 25.62.

Pacing the field through the heats was Etobicoke’s Hanna Henderson, who clocked 25.49 to mark the second-fastest swim of her career and her fastest since 2019.

Henderson set her best time of 25.33 at the 2019 World Junior Championships.

Uxbridge Swim Club’s Hannah Cornish, who came in as the top seed in the event, was .02 off her best time to advance second overall into the final in 25.60. She set her PB of 25.58 at last year’s Trials.

Katerine Savard, the runner-up to MacNeil in the 100 fly last night, neared her lifetime best of 25.52 in 25.68 to qualify third for the final, while Brooklyn Douthwright was 25.89 for fifth.

Douthwright, who recently completed her sophomore year at Tennessee, owns a best time of 25.70 from the 2021 Olympic Trials.

MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

• Canadian Record: 21.61 – Josh Liendo (2022)
• FINA ‘A’ Cut: 22.12

Finals Qualifiers

1. Josh Liendo (NYAC), 22.18
2. Edouard Fullum-Huot (PCSC), 22.27
3. Artem Selin (SCW), 22.42*
4. Liam Weaver (CASC), 22.88
5. Owen Guyn (LASC), 22.98
6. James LeBuke (HPCVN), 23.09
7. Stephen Calkins (UCSC), 23.16
8. Ali Sayed (CAMO) / Raine Arden (UOFL), 23.29
9. –
10. Mateo Parker (RSD) / Lovro Serdarevic (UN), 23.32

Josh Liendo cruised to the top time of the session in the men’s 50 free, touching in 22.18 to lead Pointe-Claire’s Edouard Fullum-Huot (22.27) in the seventh and final heat.

Liendo, who reset the Canadian Record twice on Wednesday in the 100 fly, owns the National Record of 21.61 in the 50 free, set at last summer’s World Championships where he finished fifth.

Fullum-Huot’s swim marks a sizeable lifetime best, dropping nearly half a second off his previous mark of 22.73 set at the 2021 U.S. Open. His 22.27 swim also puts him within striking distance of the FINA ‘A’ cut (22.12).

Artem Selin, a German native out of USC, was third-fastest in a time of 22.42, with his lifetime best sitting at 21.83 from 2019.

*There was a tie for 10th between Mateo Parker and Lovro Serdarevic, but since Selin is a foreign swimmer, he will be relegated to the ‘B’ final and thus meaning Parker and Serdarevic won’t need to swim-off.

Hyack’s Laon Kim continued his record-breaking barrage, lowering his Canadian NAG record for 13-14 boys in a time of 23.65, dipping under the 23.81 mark he established in early March. Kim tied for 19th overall.

WOMEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE – PRELIMS

• Canadian Record: 1:05.74 – Annamay Pierse (2009)
• FINA ‘A’ Cut: 1:07.35

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Sophie Angus (HPCON), 1:07.47
2. Sydney Pickrem (TSC), 1:08.25
3. Rachel Nicol (UCSC), 1:08.57
4. Kelsey Wog (UMAN), 1:09.07
5. Shona Branton (WES), 1:09.17
6. Avery Wiseman (OSC), 1:09.25
7. Nina Kucheran (SLSC), 1:09.32
8. Kathryn Ivanov (LAC), 1:09.90
9. Danika Ethier (UL), 1:09.91
10. Alexanne Lepage (VKSC), 1:09.95

Sophie Angus showed impressive en route to claiming the top seed for tonight’s final of the women’s 100 breaststroke by nearly eight-tenths of a second, clocking 1:07.47 to dip under her personal best time of 1:07.60.

Angus set that PB in the final of last year’s Trials, where she picked up the victory and qualified for the World Championships in Budapest, ultimately placing 24th.

Now training out of HPC – Ontario, Angus also competed at the Commonwealth Games last summer and was a semi-finalist in both the 50 and 100 breast, and also picked up a pair of silver medals on the Canadian women’s and mixed 400 medley relays.

Sydney Pickrem won the penultimate heat in a time of 1:08.25 to qualify second overall, just over a second shy of her PB (1:07.20) set in 2019. Pickrem has split as fast as 1:06.42 with a relay takeover, however.

Rachel Nicol and Kelsey Wog were third and fourth this morning, as these four swimmers will be vying to earn the breaststroke slot on Canada’s 400 medley relay this summer—a position they’ve all held at various international meets in recent years.

At last year’s World Championships, Wog swam the women’s medley relay prelims and Nicol raced the final after Angus added in the individual 100 breast heats.

Narrowly missing a spot in the ‘A’ final was Manta Swim Club’s Halle West, 14, who swam a time of 1:11.27, just shy of her lifetime best 1:11.18 that ranks her sixth all-time in the girls’ 13-14 age group.

MEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE – PRELIMS

• Canadian Record: 59.85 – Scott Dickens (2012)
• FINA ‘A’ Cut: 59.75

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Brayden Taivassalo (MAC), 1:01.10
2. James Dergousoff (HPCVAN), 1:01.27
3. Gabe Mastromatteo (TSC), 1:01.68
4. Apollo Hess (UOFL) / Luca Chiandussi (WEST), 1:01.72
5. –
6. Justice Migneault (UBCT), 1:01.76
7. Alexandre Landry (SLSC), 1:03.24
8. Neil Simpson (PCSC), 1:03.26
9. Moncef Balamane (ALG), 1:03.28
10. Steve Frantskevich (RAMAC), 1:03.76

In a race that was reminiscent of the 200 breaststroke final on Tuesday, Markham Aquatic Club’s Brayden Taivassalo ran down James Dergousoff in the final heat of the men’s 100 breast prelims, claiming the top seed for the final while crushing his best time.

Taivassalo, who set a personal best time of 1:01.88 in early March at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim, stormed home in 32.37 to clock 1:01.10 in the event, ranking him second all-time for Canadians in the 17-18 age group (though NAG records are recognized for 15-17s and Taivassalo is 18).

Dergousoff, who owns a best time of 1:00.86 from last summer’s Commonwealth Games, touched in 1:01.27 to advance second overall, while Toronto Swim Club’s Gabe Mastromatteo ranks third in 1:01.68.

Dergousoff (27.87) and Mastromatteo (28.12) were considerably faster than Taivasslao (28.73) on the opening 50, but both swimmers closed over a second slower.

University of Lethbridge’s Apollo Hess and Windsor-Essex’s Luca Chiandussi both hit lifetime bests of 1:01.72 to move into the final tied for fourth.

Grand Prairie Piranhas’ Oliver Dawson, 15, dropped two and a half seconds off his PB in 1:03.93, placing him 12th overall.

WOMEN’S 200 IM – PRELIMS

• Canadian Record: 2:08.08 – Summer McIntosh (2023)
• FINA ‘A’ Cut: 2:12.98

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Summer McIntosh (UNCAN), 2:11.28
2. Sydney Pickrem (TSC), 2:13.01
3. Mary-Sophie Harvey (CAMO), 2:13.42
4. Ella Jansen (ESWIM), 2:13.74
5. Bailey Andison (CAMO), 2:14.36
6. Tessa Cieplucha (MAC), 2:14.53
7. Julie Brousseau (NKB), 2:15.18
8. Kathryn Hazle (UNCAN), 2:15.91
9. Sienna Angove (KCS), 2:16.50
10. Ashley McMillan (GO), 2:16.54

Summer McIntosh had a quick fly leg but largely shut things down after that, putting things on cruise control in the prelims of the 200 IM.

The 16-year-old phenom didn’t take a hard stroke over the closing 150, putting up a time of 2:11.28 to qualify first for the final.

McIntosh set a new Canadian and World Junior Record of 2:08.08 earlier this month at the Pro Swim Series stop in Fort Lauderdale, and given the form she showed on Tuesday in the 400 free, she’ll likely be well under that standard in tonight’s final.

Sydney Pickrem, the former Canadian Record holder in this event with her lifetime best of 2:08.61, successfully completed the 100 breast/200 IM double, doing just enough to win the first circle-seeded heat in a time of 2:13.01 to qualify second overall.

Mary-Sophie Harvey, a 2022 World Championship finalist in this event, topped the penultimate heat in 2:13.42, having set a PB of 2:10.22 last summer in Budapest.

Etobicoke’s Ella Jansen dropped two-tenths from her lifetime best to qualify fifth overall in 2:13.74, which keeps her ranked ninth all-time in the girls’ 15-17 age group.

MEN’S 200 IM – PRELIMS

• Canadian Record: 1:57.50 – Finlay Knox (2022)
• FINA ‘A’ Cut: 1:59.53

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Finlay Knox (HPCON), 2:00.57
2. Collyn Gagne (SFA), 2:01.29
3. Blake Tierney (UBCT), 2:01.67
4. Ilya Kharun (UNCAN), 2:02.53
5. Lorne Wigginton (UCSC), 2:02.76
6. Brodie Young (UBCT), 2:04.07
7. Jacob Gallant (FAST), 2:04.92
8. Aiden Norman (UCSC), 2:04.93
9. Jordi Vilchez (BTSC), 2:04.95
10. Loic Courville Fortin (CAMO), 2:07.47

• Tristan Jankovics (RCAQ), 2:01.52 DQ

Finlay Knox put together a well-rounded swim to claim Lane 4 for tonight’s final in the men’s 200 IM, pulling away from UBC’s Blake Tierney on the freestyle to touch first in a time of 2:00.57.

Knox set the Canadian Record of 1:57.50 at last year’s Trials meet, going on to finish 17th at the World Championships and fourth at the Commonwealth Games in 2022.

Tierney dropped more than a second and a half to qualify third overall for the final in 2:01.67, having previously been 2:03.26 last summer.

Simon Fraser Aquatics’ Collyn Gagne, the 2022 NCAA Division II champion in the 400 IM, led the second-to-last heat in a time of 2:01.29 to qualify second overall, followed closely by Royal City Aquatic Club’s Tristan Jankovics.

Jankovics, an OSU commit, initially touched in 2:01.52 which would’ve been third-fastest, but he was disqualified.

Ilya Kharun narrowly missed his lifetime best by 12 one-hundredths in 2:02.53, advancing fourth into the final.

Finishing one spot outside of the ‘A’ final was 14-year-old standout Laon Kim, who dropped nearly a second from his personal best time to finish 11th in 2:07.68. Kim, who had previously been 2:08.57, remains the #2 swimmer of all-time in the 13-14 age group behind Cole Pratt (2:05.26).

WOMEN’S 100 FREESTYLE MULTI-CLASS PARA

1. Aurelie Rivard S10 (CNQ), 1:01.93
2. Shelby Newkirk S6 (LASER), 1:15.87
3. Arianna Hunsicker S10 (S10), 1:03.62
4. Katie Cosgriffe S10 (OAK), 1:04.87
5. Sabrina Duchesne S7 (UL), 1:16.21
6. Mary Jibb S10 (MUSAC), 1:05.95
7. Katarina Roxon S9 (AASC), 1:10.11
8. Abi Tripp S8 (CNQ), 1:13.05
9. Kylin Tan S7 (OAK), 1:19.31
10. Emma Van Dyk S14 (BROCK), 1:06.86

The reigning two-time Paralympic champion in the women’s S10 100 freestyle, Aurelie Rivard led the multi-class prelims this morning in a time of 1:01.93. The 26-year-old owns a best time of 58.14 from the 2021 Paralympic Games.

Competing in the S6 category, Shelby Newkirk clocked 1:15.87 which ultimately earned her the second seed once the Para points were calculated, with Newkirk owning a best of 1:14.55 set last summer.

MEN’S 100 FREESTYLE MULTI-CLASS PARA

1. Tyson MacDonald S14 (ROW), 55.68
2. Philippe Vachon S8 (MEGO), 1:02.39
3. Noah Jaffe S9 (NCA), 1:00.20
4. Connor Bissett S14 (SBPS), 57.83
5. Zach Zona S8 (NHAC), 1:04.88
6. Alexander Elliot S10 (CNQ), 57.20
7. Reid Maxwell S9 (EKSC), 1:01.44
8. Jagdev Gill S10 (MCGIL), 58.22
9. Felix Thomas Cowan S9 (SAMAK), 1:02.85
10. Caleb Arndt S13 (NEW), 1:00.61

Region of Waterloo’s Tyson MacDonald set a new personal best time of 55.68 to lead the men’s 100 free multi-class event, competing in the S14 category.

S8 swimmer Philippe Vachon was within a second of his lifetime best from 2018 (1:01.40) to advance second in 1:02.39.