2019 CANADIAN SWIMMING TRIALS
- April 3-7, 2019
- Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, Toronto, ON
- LCM (50m)
- Prelims/Finals: 9:30 am / 6:00 pm ET
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Live Stream (Rectectv)
- Live Stream (CBC Sports)
We’re on to day 3 prelims from Ontario, with 12 more events qualifying this morning.
In the women’s 200 back, Kylie Masse looks to add to her 100 back win from night 1, with Taylor Ruck in tow. For the men, Markus Thormeyer is also looking to add to his 100 back gold, with Sebastian Somerset the #2-seed.
The women’s 100 fly features youngsters Penny Oleksiak and Rebecca Smith at the top, along with Sweden’s Louise Hansson and another 2000-born Canadian, Maggie MacNeil. For the men, internationals Luis Martinez and Zheng Quah are the top two seeds, but it’s Josiah Binnema leading the Canadians into heats.
We’ve also got the 400 free, where 400 IM standout Emily Overholt will meet 1500 free champ Mackenzie Padington. For the men, it’s Sweden’s Victor Johansson at the top, followed by Canadian Jeremy Bagshaw.
Keep refreshing this page for live, event-by-event updates of all the action from Toronto.
Women’s 50 Fly Para – Prelims
S7’s Sabrina Duchesne led the way this morning by just .13 seconds and 6 para points over fellow S7 Tess Routliffe. Duchesne was 40.29 and Routliffe 40.42. It’s an S7-heavy field, with four of the six entrants this morning competing in that class.
Men’s 50 Fly Para – Prelims
There was only one entrant this morning on the men’s side: Etienne Boutin-Cote of the S5 class. He went 1:07.79 for 126 para points.
Women’s 100 Fly Para – Prelims
S10’s Samantha Ryan led the 100 fly, going 1:11.27. That’s worth 678 para points. Not far back is 634-point Angela Marina, who went 1:15.90 from the S14 class.
Men’s 100 Fly Para – Prelims
Alexander Elliot is the top qualifier for the men, going 1:00.00 on the nose for 758 para points in the S10 class. S14 Nicholas Bennett is the closest challenger, scoring 738 para points this morning with a 1:03.94, dropping seven tenths from seed.
Women’s 200 Back – Prelims
- FINA A cut: 2:11.53
Top qualifiers:
- Masse – 2:09.36
- Broad – 2:09.82
- Ruck – 2:10.48
- Hannah – 2:11.48
- Zavaros – 2:11.82
- Glover – 2:12.29
- Ellard – 2:13.16
- *Avramova – 2:14.07
- Rathwell – 2:14.63
- *Gold – 2:14.90
Kylie Masse qualified atop the 200 back with a smooth 2:09.3 – that’s still well off her Canadian record 2:05.98 from 2017, but also included two 33-second splits late that suggested she may have shut down the speed once she got into the lead.
3rd qualifier Taylor Ruck is the heavy favorite to be second tonight, but Madison Broad had a nice swim to outpace Ruck in the heats. Broad cut to 2:09.82 after coming in with a 2:11 seed. On the other hand, Ruck was 2:06 twice last summer in taking second at both Commonwealths and Pan Pacs.
Jade Hannah was 2:11.48, dropping two seconds from seed to take fourth and get under the FINA A cut. The top two who are under the cut should make Worlds, and it looks like the Canadian women will have two qualifiers here tonight.
2000-born Mabel Zavaros was fifth, as the second- through fifth-place finishers were all born after the year 2000. It’s a young field all the way through: further back, Regan Rathwell (born in 2004) was 2:14.63 with a huge drop from her 2:17 seed.
Men’s 200 Back – Prelims
- FINA A cut: 1:58.34
Top qualifiers:
- Thormeyer – 1:59.99
- Marois – 2:00.59
- Hill – 2:00.66
- Acevedo – 2:00.74
- Pratt – 2:00.92
- Zakala – 2:01.86
- Klein – 2:02.69
- Somerset – 2:02.78
- Stokes – 2:02.82
- Wall – 2:02.94
Markus Thormeyer is in line for his third national title this week, qualifying first in the 200 back. He was a hair under two minutes, but still off his 1:57 seed time. Thormeyer also won the 100 back and 100 free earlier in the meet and should be making lots of appearances at Worlds. If he can challenge his seed time, he should also push the Canadian record of 1:57.34, set way back in 2009. (Thormeyer already broke the 100 back record this week).
William Marois had a nice drop of two seconds to take second in 2:00.59. He’s narrowly ahead of Robert Hill (2:00.66) and Javier Acevedo (2:00.74), last night’s 50 back winner.
Cole Pratt, born 2002, was 2:00.92, about a tenth off his seed. Swimming Canada’s records page isn’t accessible at the moment, so we can’t yet confirm whether Pratt could be after more 15-17 national age records.
Women’s 100 Fly – Prelims
- FINA A cut: 58.48
Top qualifiers:
- *Hansson – 57.35
- Smith – 58.50
- MacNeil – 58.66
- Black – 59.07
- Oleksiak – 59.31
- Watson – 56.56
- Henderson – 59.58
- Hanus – 59.69
- *Nogaj – 59.86
- *Quah – 59.95
Sweden’s Louise Hansson had the fastest prelims time by a wide margin, going 57.35. That should move her to #3 in the world so far this year. Hansson will be relegated to the B final tonight as an international entrant.
2018-2019 LCM WOMEN 100 FLY
MacNeil
55.83
| 2 | Sarah SJOSTROM | SWE | 56.2 | 07/22 |
| 3 | Emma McKEON | AUS | 56.61 | 04/22 |
| 4 | Marie WATTEL | FRA | 57.00 | 07/21 |
| 5 | Brianna THROSSELL | AUS | 57.02 | 07/21 |
A pair of teenagers will be the top Canadian seeds: Rebecca Smith was 58.50 and Maggie MacNeil 58.66. Smith, the Junior World Champs silver medalist in 2017, has been 57.77 before, while MacNeil, last summer’s Junior Pan Pacs champ, has been 58.38. Both were born in the year 2000.
Haley Black cut seven tenths from seed to go 59.07, followed by two more 2000-born swimmers: Penny Oleksiak (59.31) and Sarah Watson (59.56). Oleksiak, the 2016 Olympic champ in the 100 free, holds the Canadian record in this event at 56.46 and could be a huge factor tonight.
Men’s 100 Fly – Prelims
- FINA A cut: 51.96
Top qualifiers:
- *Martinez – 51.87
- *Quah – 52.53
- *Carter – 52.92
- Liendo – 53.11
- Binnema – 53.34
- Pisani – 53.51
- Perreault – 53.90
- Darragh – 54.22
- Dans – 54.24
- *Miljenic – 54.27
As in the 50 fly on day 1, most of the top qualifiers were internationals who won’t move on to the final. Luis Martinez of Guatemala was the top qualifier at 51.87, getting under the FINA A cut. Singapore’s Quah Zheng Wen was second and Trinidad & Tobago’s Dylan Carter third.
2002-born Joshua Liendo is the top Canadian qualifier, going 53.11 with a drop of eight tenths from seed. He’ll need another full second and a little more to make the FINA A cut, but should be in the hunt for a national title tonight, at the very least.
Josiah Binnema was 53.34, and he’s been 52.5 before. Meanwhile William Pisani went 53.51 after coming in with a 52.9 seed time.
Women’s 400 Free – Prelims
- FINA A cut: 4:10.57
Top qualifiers:
- Ackman – 4:11.08
- Goss – 4:14.50
- Padington – 4:14.54
- Ludlow – 4:15.21
- O’Croinin – 4:15.49
- *DeLoof – 4:19.00
- Overholt – 4:19.14
- Bellio – 4:19.71
- Meklensek – 4:20.60
- Harvey – 4:20.76
Alyson Ackman is the top 400 free qualifier, making a big drop from seed (4:17.6) to go 4:11.08 this morning. She’ll need about half a second to get under the FINA A cut tonight.
Kennedy Goss is second at 4:14.50, but has more time to cut tonight if she can get closer to her seed. 1500 free champ Mackenzie Padington might be the one to watch tonight: she was just 4:14.54 this morning but has been 4:10.6 before and saw a good time drop in the mile on day 1.
All three of the top qualifiers here swam in the United States with different Big Ten schools: Ackman for Penn State, Goss for Indiana and Padington for Minnesota.
Danica Ludlow was 4:15.21, cutting two seconds from seed. And 2003-born Emma O’Croinin had a great age group swim of 4:15.49, though she’s still a tick off her incoming seed.
Men’s 400 Free – Prelims
- FINA A cut: 3:48.15
Top qualifiers:
- *Johansson – 3:50.63
- Gilbert – 3:52.97
- Bagshaw – 3:53.85
- *D’Arrigo – 3:54.85
- McGillivray – 3:55.09
- Brothers – 3:56.15
- Beaudin-Bolduc – 3:56.49
- Pratt – 3:56.81
- Cote – 3:57.22
- Neri – 3:57.37
Sweden’s Victor Johansson went 3:50.63 for easily the fastest time of the morning, though it was still off his 3:47 seed. Colin Gilbert leads the Canadian contingent into the final, going 3:52.97 for the top spot and taking five seconds off his seed time.
Jeremy Bagshaw was 3:53.85, and should be in the hunt tonight with a 3:49 seed time. Behind him is American Andrea D’Arrigo (3:54.85) who will be bumped to the B final with Johansson.
2002-born Michael McGillivray cut two seconds to go 3:55.09 – he’ll be the third Canadian into the final tonight.
Women’s 400 Free Para – Prelims
Aurelie Rivard put up the highest-scoring para swim of the morning so far, going 4:54.84 in the 400 free for a 768-point swim. The S10 swimmer leads heats of that race by more than 100 para points.
Sabrina Duchesne, fresh off her 50 fly at the beginning of prelims, went 5:39.96 out of the S7 class to earn the second qualifying spot.
Men’s 400 Free Para – Prelims
Alexander Elliot will lead both of his prelims events this morning. He went 4:15.86 for 802 para points, outdoing Rivard’s swim one event earlier. The S10 swimmer has been 4:13 before and will have a chance to match that tonight.
Zach Zona of S8 is the second qualifier, putting up 755 para points with a 4:45.25.
Sweden medley relay potential – could be looking good. Louise on fly, Sophie on breast, Sjostrom on free or back, and who is the fourth?
Santo Condorelli
I lol’d in real life.
I would think they do something like Hansson/Hansson/Sjostrom/Coleman… right?
But they also have Jennie Johansson who was a 1:05 on that relay in 2017. Might that be better than Sophie Hansson can do?
Probably Michelle Coleman (1:00.2 back / 53.2 free) at this point. I wonder if there’s any chance of Louise Hansson on back (she was 50.7 SCY this year, but has only been 1:01.2 LCM) with Sjostrom on fly and Coleman on free.
Hansson was only 1:01.2 LCM until she went 1:00.3 the other night out of the B final at this meet. That’s why I think they use her as the backstroker.
Ah good call. I had a feeling she was due for a drop there based on SCY times.
I believe Sjostrom has been 59 high or 1:00 low in back, as has Michelle Coleman. I could see Coleman leading off and Sjostrom anchoring, especially since Coleman recently set some SCM backstroke national records. With a viable fly leg, it really opens up some options.
“Oleksiak, the 2016 Olympic champ in the 100 free, has been as fast as 57.50 before.”
She went a 56.46 to win the silver in Rio. Admittedly, she’s been a bit of a wild card since, but the potential is definitely still there.
Lol good catch. Go Penny!!!
Even when she was way off her personal best in the last couple of years, she was still easily Canada’s best in the women’s butterfly sprints. Hopefully she still is. We’ll see soon enough.
Just wondering why Sweden’s Louise Hansson is competing in the Canadian Swimming Trials? If I’m missing something globally, politically or something about swim trials, please let me know. Thanks
There’s a bunch of international swimmers in Toronto this week and they’re using this meet as a tune up/measuring stick. None of the foreigners are allowed to swim in A finals, though, no matter where they place in the prelims.
Thanks
The Swedish trials are next week in Stockholm. NCAA swimmers have to pick up a LCM meet of their choice and qualify that way. So for Louise these are her trials. Her sister will be doing the same next week in Richmond.
4 women under the 200BK FINA A in the morning!
That cut is soft, as is men’s 200 back.
We need to stop saying times are soft. Yea there are a bunch of women under the A cut but that’s a product of our depth and high end in those events. Just because you get the A time doesn’t mean diddly unless you’re top 2. In those deep female events we have 1-2 medal hopes and that’s the way it should be. I’d rather see a final full of A cuts and 6 ladies missing out, than a single male A cut that is going to get whipped at the big dance. Unless its Thormeyer. All hail Caesar!
The Canadian women are really deep in the backstroke events right now. It’s kind of exciting.
Finally we are getting to the most interesting part: Taylor Ruck and 200s (please, excuse me Canadian fans. It is your week, your national trials, your stars and your young hopes. And I’m just a foreigner) Her 2018 season was so powerful, so impressive that left nobody indifferent. If 2017 season was SARAH SJOSTROM, then in 2018 it was Ikee and Ruck. How far will Taylor Ruck go? Was it her best or she was just warming up. How her freshman year, swimming exclusively in the Shortest Course for a half of the year and new coach affected her LCM abilities? This meet is the first chance to get some hints on these questions. Yes, she has the Speed and… Read more »
Just like most major universities, Stanford swam long course practices several days a week. She’ll be fine.
They also do dry land exercises and sprinters do at practices long distance sets and vice versa. But they are focusing on strategy and tactics swimming in ~ 23 meters pool. For some swimmers who prefer stroke over the walls and underwater it can have some consequences. I’m not saying that that is necessarily Ruck’s case. Hope not, let’s see. My major interest isn’t if the swimming for college affected her chances in major international competitions, but I’m wondering how her progress curve looks like.
Ok, I’ll bite. As a Canadian swim fan, worrying about Taylor Ruck’s LCM abilities doesn’t make the list of the top thousand things I worry about. I’ll re-check the results to be certain but I think she’s killing it this week. No?
If people need reminding, she went a best time in the 100Back behind only the former world record holder and won the 100 Free. I am not worried either…!
Well I’m a little worried. I’m hoping Taylor will return to Toronto to train at HPC next season in advance of the Tokyo Olympics next year. But I do wonder if a strong showing at Trials this week will convince her that she can set up her Olympic year while swimming at Stanford next season.
Canadian swimmer, you have been quite a negative nelly on these boards during NCAAs, etc. I prefer to support our swimmers here.
Tell you what: you do you; I’ll do me. You like rose coloured glasses? No problem! Wear ’em.
I hope she continues to train at Stanford. She doesn’t seem to have lost anything by is, at the very least.
Stanford has a great swimming program and Taylor was, and will be again, key to its success. However, I’m not convinced that a team whose director is also Head Coach of the U.S. Women’s Olympic Swimming Program is the best place for a Canadian international to be developing in an Olympic year. The Stanford program is also top-heavy in U.S. Olympians– and not just any Olympians but gold medal winners– women who are tough, blooded, man-eating warriors who just happen to be competing in many of the same events as Taylor Ruck and might not welcome the presence of a Canadian medal hope. Add in to that the whole hyper-partisan atmosphere that’s typical of a pre-Olympic season and I don’t… Read more »
Unless Rebecca Smith can find another gear she’s going to find it hard to prevail against Maggie MacNeil in the race for the second berth in the 100 Fly.
Is she no longer training with Ben Titley?
No, she was swimming at UofT this year, alongside Kylie Masse. Smith did well at USports this year, but I think she was missing the competition that comes as part of training with an elite group.
I expect a fierce battle between Smith and MacNeil in the middle lanes tonight. But it’ll be a fight for second because Oleksiak is going to let them both beat her to the turn before she gobbles ’em up in the last 25.