Swimming Canada has released its selection process for the 2024 Olympic Games while also unveiling the dates of next year’s Olympic Trials.
The 2024 Olympic Trials have been penciled in for May 13-19, though the date is listed as “TBC” (to be confirmed). If that scheduling holds up, it will make the Trials later in the calendar than usual, as Canada’s annual selection meets have typically run in April.
The 2023 World Trials, for example, took place in late March/early April. The 2021 Olympic Trials meet got pushed back to June due to the COVID pandemic, though the Tokyo selection came with the caveat that some athletes were named to the Olympic team prior to the Trials.
2024 OLYMPIC SELECTION POLICY – POOL SWIMMING
The Olympic selection procedure will follow the same guidelines Swimming Canada has used in previous years, with the top two swimmers in each event earning automatic qualification to the team provided they’re under the Olympic qualifying time (OQT).
The top-four finishers in the 100 and 200 freestyle will also qualify for relay purposes, while the winners of the 100m stroke events will be in a position to be added to the team for the 400 medley relay should they not have already qualified.
There will also be room for a swimmer who places top-two in an event at the Trials but does not achieve the OQT, but has done so inside the qualification period, to get named to the team.
Swimming Canada will also be able to make discretionary additions for relays.
Priorities
- Priority 1: The first and second placed Swimmers in the A final and achieving the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT) (appendix A) at the 2024 Canadian Swimming Trials, will be nominated. For Time Finals, all performance will be considered and the first and second placed Swimmers achieving the OQT at the 2024 Canadian Swimming Trials will be nominated.
- Priority 2: For freestyle relays that earned qualification to the Olympic Games, in accordance with the Qualification System, the top four (4) placed Swimmers in the 100m and the top four (4) place Swimmers in the 200m Freestyle in the A final at the 2024 Canadian Swimming Trials will be nominated.
- Priority 3: For the women’s and men’s medley relays that earned qualification to the Olympic Games, in accordance with the Qualification System, where there has not been a Swimmer nominated in the male or female 100m Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly and/or Freestyle events in Priorities 1 and 2, the first placed Swimmers in the A final will be nominated for the appropriate relay.
- Priority 4: The Swimming Canada Selection Committee has the discretion to nominate eligible swimmers to enhance relays based on the recommendation of the High Performance Director.
- Priority 5: Where an event has no qualifiers or only one qualifier with the OQT (appendix A) from the 2024 Canadian Swimming Trials, a Swimmer who has achieved the OQT within the qualification period (March 1, 2023-June 23, 2024) and finishes in the top 2 in the event, at the 2024 Canadian Swimming Trials, shall be nominated, to a maximum of two OQT Swimmers per event.
- Priority 6: In an event that currently does not have any nominations through Priorities 1 to 5, the event winner who has achieved the Olympic Consideration Time (OCT) (appendix A), and achieves a time at the 2024 Canadian Swimming Trials that is within 1% of their fastest time achieved in the qualification period (March 1, 2023- June 23, 2024) will be provisionally nominated. These provisional nominations are subject to World Aquatics approval and invitation.
PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TIMES
2024 OLYMPIC SELECTION POLICY – OPEN WATER SWIMMING
Swimming Canada will follow the qualification process put in place by World Aquatics to nominate its open water team for the 2024 Olympics.
The top three swimmers in the 10km event at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka will qualify for the Olympics in open water, while the top-13 swimmers (excluding those already qualified) at the 2024 Worlds in Doha will also book a ticket to Paris.
Priorities
- Priority 1: Any swimmer who receives a qualifying invitation for Paris 2024 from World Aquatics, according to the Qualification System, following the 20th World Aquatics Championships 2023 will be nominated.
- Priority 2: Any swimmer who receives a qualifying invitation for Paris 2024 from World Aquatics, according to the Qualification System, following the 21st World Aquatics Championships 2024 will be nominated.
The remaining slots will be determined based on World Aquatics’ continental representation allocation, which you can read more about here.
Swimming Canada also recently released its selection criteria for the 2024 World Championships in Doha.
Excellent!!! May is better than late March. Finally a decision by swimming Canada I can get behind – lol.
This appears to be quite similar to Americas qualification.
So with a trials in mid-May, will the top Canadian NCAA swimmers sit out the season next year so they can train exclusively long course throughout the winter and early spring? No Josh Liendo at the University of Florida, for example?
The same question could probably be asked of any Olympic hopeful regardless of nationality. Most would consider additional long course training beneficial in an Olympic year.
None have announced it yet, but my tea leaves say we’re going to see a lot of redshirts next season.
Some schools go some long course practices during the NCAA season, out of the schools that have a 50m pool available (2-4 long course practices a week is not unheard of during NCAA season).
Most of those schools don’t actually adjust training much. I know Florida has been a place where they leaned pretty heavily on volunteers/Gator swim club coaches to run some of those separate LC swims for pros, but Bowman has talked about how he tried to run separate practices for pros and it was too much for him and his staff to deal with. They’re likely to just shift an extra practice or two into LC. The biggest difference with the Olympic redshirt is the ability to race LC more throughout the year and not missing training for dual meets in yards.
In 2016 Cal sent Murphy, Prenot, & Seli to a PSS meet instead of PACs despite them not taking… Read more »
As a canadian swimming community member, this is fantastic to see. Very clear cut, very straight forward, use the times that are given and don’t complicate the process with extra loopholes.
Agreed. And on top of that I like that a) they can add a 5th or 6th relay team member to add depth/prelim rest option, and b) they can add a high performing top 2 finisher in absence of the OQT if they simply had a slightly off swim on the day. Gives the country the chance to send the best team under the fairest of conditions.
A couple of articles ago you were arguing for trials in April and that it was all about the sure things. Seriously have an opinion and stick to it.
Common sense prevails.
Semi sense prevails. Full common sense puts this meet in June. But it’s at least better than the idiocy of April meets.
Of course, it’s perfect timing to be 14 days after the conclusion of final exams for almost all Canadian universities – you know, the time of year when Canadian collegiate swimmers will be laser focused on swimming and not their academic finals. Right? Oh…wait.
I mean….scheduling is not rocket science. Does anyone even discuss this sort of thing at that level in Canadian Swimming?
Isn’t the idea for ALL Trials qualifiers to be at their elite best at an Olympic Trials?
Guess we can be glass half full that Swimming Canada didn’t put it… Read more »
uSports is not a factor in producing Olympic swimming/swimmers for SNC or medals.
It should be.
Arguably the 2nd best organized swimming collegiate organization in the world behind the NCAA, yet Swimming Canada wants to rely on cash grab/cush job training centers (which seem from reports to be in death throes at this point…at least the Ontario one) vs. figuring out how to make the Canadian system become a producer at the global level consistently, and dare say even, expectantly.
Every university is a potential mini training center just like in America – if you set the standard and expectations and encouragement to excel. Facilities, money, any reason to put into the ‘can’t’ column can be countered with the Lydia Jacoby’s, Jenny Thompson’s and Ian Crockers of the world who excelled… Read more »
I would love to know why they chose May over June?
No shit Sherlock. I guess they finally learned a hard lesson after this years trials.
Great Britain has left the chat.