2021 CANADIAN OLYMPIC SWIMMING TRIALS
- June 19 – June 23, 2021
- Toronto, Ontario
- Toronto Pan Am Sport Centre
- Long Course Meters (50m)
- Olympic Qualifying Event
- Swimming Canada Olympic Selection Criteria
- Meet Package
- Psych Sheets
- Live results
Canadian record holder in the 400 IM Emily Overholt has decided to scratch the event on the final night of racing at the 2021 Canadian Olympic Trials.
Overholt was entered with a 4:37.42 for second seed overall behind Sydney Pickrem‘s 4:35.42. That entry time is under the 4:38.53 FINA A standard and is a bit slower than her 4:32.52 Canadian record in the event from the 2015 World Championships.
Overholt has swum the event for Canada a number of times for Canada since 2015 including at the 2016 Olympics where she placed 5th overall with a 4:34.70. She also competed in the event at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju and placed 5th in a 4:37.42.
Top seed Sydney Pickrem has already been named to the Olympic team in the 400 IM, along with the 200 breast and 200 IM, meaning that only 1 spot is available in the A final. The frontrunners in the event in the absence of Overholt are Tessa Cieplucha who will now enter as 2nd seed (4:38.96), Bailey Andison in 3rd (4:39.54), and Mary-Sophie Harvey (4:42.70). Of those 3 women, only Harvey has ever been under the 4:38.53 FINA A cut, holding a 4:36.48 from a 2017 Mare Nostrum meet.
If no women other than Pickrem get under the FINA A during the A final, Swimming Canada’s selection criteria allow for Overholt to earn a discretionary nomination to the event as the only other woman to have been under the time during the Olympic qualification period.
Overholt raced 3 events at the 2021 Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials and while she has delivered 2 top 2 finishes, she has been a bit over the FINA A cut in each event.
Emily Overholt Individual Performances
| 400 freestyle | 200 freestyle | 200 butterfly | |
| Time | 4:11.91 | 1:59.97 | 2:11.16 |
| FINA A | 4:07.90 | 1:57.28 | 2:08.43 |
| Placement | 2 | 8 | 1 |
in 2015 she won a bronze medal at the Work Championships in the 400 IM where she set the Canadian Record of 4:32.52 Since the second place finisher got the A standard at the trials tonight that unfortunately seems to leave her no chance to be on the team.
She also has the 400 free A cut from winter 2019 which is inside the Q-period….so technically SNC could take both Summer with her 405 time trial last month and Emily with that 406 according to their priority #5 I believe…. question is how liberally will they execute the ‘discretionary’ pics in this regards??
The discretionary period begins Mar 1, 2019 and Overholt 4:06 in Feb 2029 just just misses. I hope there is another way to get her onto the team.
4:06 Feb 2019
Just a thought – if you scratch trials why should you get picked?
Almost got the impression she had no intention of going to Tokyo. No reason to think she couldn’t have hit the standard in the 400im.
Sounded like her dad gave her a ‘retirement speech’ after the 2fly win.