Swimming Canada has entered a roster of 10 women and 14 men for the upcoming Mare Nostrum tour. The list includes Olympic gold medalists Maggie MacNeil and Penny Oleksiak among a list of both young up-and-comers and veterans.
Notably absent are the country’s newest World Record holder, 16-year-old Summer McIntosh, who trains in Florida, and the country’s best backstroker Kylie Masse, who trains in Spain (which hosts a stop on the three-meet tour). Josh Liendo, the country’s top male swimmer, is also absent from the roster.
While Oleksiak has entered a number of meets over the last year, she hasn’t raced since the 2022 World Championships while continuing to rehab from knee surgery last year. In spite of skipping the World Championship Trials, Swimming Canada named her to the team for Fukuoka earlier this month.
All but six of the 24 headed to the Mare Nostrum are part of Canada’s 31-member roster for the upcoming World Aquatics Championships. Among the exceptions are Stephen Calkins, who was on the Commonwealth Games team last year, a group from the University of Calgary Swim Club, and Tokyo 2020 Olympian Cole Pratt.
This is the biggest national group committed from one country so far, alongside names like Cate Campbell of Australia, Lara van Niekerk and Chad le Clos of South Africa, Szebasztian Szabo of Hungary, Kira Toussaint of the Netherlands, Masiuk Ksawery of Poland, Sarah Sjostrom of the Sweden, Noe Ponti of Switzerland, and Michael Andrew and Lydia Jacoby of the United States.
Meet-by-meet schedules:
| 2023 | 2024 | |
| Canet | May 13-14 | May 25-26 |
| Barcelona | May 17-18 | May 29-30 |
| Monaco | May 20-21 | June 1-2 |
There will be at least $150,000 in prize money up for grabs this week among the three meets.
| WOMEN’S TEAM | |
| MacNeil, Margaret | Olympic Champion 2021 – 100 fly
World Champion 2022 – 100 fly World Record holder short course 50 back, 100 fly |
| Oleksiak, Penny | Olympic Champion 2016
Multiple Olympic Medalist 2016, 2021 Multiple World Championship Medalist |
| Wilm, Ingrid | Winner of Mare Nostrum Tour 2022
World Championships Medalist |
| Jansen, Ella | Commonwealth Games Medalist
Junior Pan Pacs Medalist |
| Savard, Katerine | Olympic Medalist 2016, 2021
Multiple World Championship Medalist Three time Olympian 2012, 2016, 2021 |
| Harvey, Mary-Sophie | Olympian 2021
World Championships Finalist Multiple World Championship Medalist |
| Henderson, Hanna | World Junior Championships Medalist |
| Douthwright, Brooklyn | World Junior Championships Finalist |
| O’Croinin, Emma | World Championships Finalist
World Junior Championships Finalist |
| Angus, Sophie | World Championships Finalist |
| MEN’S TEAM | |
| Acevedo, Javier | Two time Olympian 2016, 2021
World SC Medalist Multiple World Championship Medalist Multiple Commonwealth Games Medalist |
| Knox, Finlay | Olympian 2021
World SC Medalist 2022 Multiple Commonwealth Games Medalist |
| Kharun, Ilya | World SC Medalist 2022
World Junior Record Holder 100 fly |
| Gaziev, Ruslan | Olympian 2021
World SC Medalist 2022 Multiple Commonwealth Games Medalist |
| Calkins, Stephen | Commonwealth Games 2022
Pan Am Games Team member |
| Fullum-Huot, Edouard
|
Canadian National Champion
Pan Am Games Team Member |
| Dergousoff, James | Canadian National Champion
Pan Am Games Team Member |
| Taivassalo, Brayden | Canadian National Champion
Pan Am Games Team Member Canadian Junior Pan Pacs Team member |
| Wigginton, Lorne | Canadian Junior Pan Pacs Team member |
| Dardis, Paul | Canadian Junior Pan Pacs Team member |
| Norman, Aiden | Canadian Junior Pan Pacs Team member |
| Tierney, Blake | Canadian University Championships multi medalist 2021, 2022 |
| Weaver, Liam | Canadian Nationalist |
| Pratt, Cole | Olympian 2021 |
Is Yuri Kisil retired from swimming?
I think Javier just said in the podcast on here that he wasn’t going.
He’s doing the training camp but not the meets
No Liendo as well.
No ruck?
No Ruck.
Greg Meehan destroys his swimmers
She couldn’t even make the B final of the 100free at NCAAs so something went wrong. Probably needs to rest and get out of Palo Alto asap.
I guess a change of plans for Taylor as I believe she was quoted just before the Canadian Trials that she would join the team at the Mare Nostrum.
Could Barcelona with Titley be where she’s headed next?
I know Cole Pratt is bouncing back from shoulder issues, so I trust he’ll return to speed eventually, but very surprised they’re bringing him along here given his best swim this season across four meets is a 58-second 100 back (less than a second faster than 1st & 2nd place Canadian women in that event at trials).
Maybe John A. knows something we don’t about his recovery trajectory, but unless he’s ready to obliterate his trials results just six weeks later, picking him for this tour over guys like Raben Domann, Tristan Jankovics, or others who put up respectable times at trials is going to look pretty silly.
what a stupid comment
What’s the line in Vegas on if oleksiak actually competes vs just going for the free trip on Swimming Canada‘s dime?
The fact that Penny entered into a couple of meets this year (before scratching) leads me to believe she must be pretty close to feeling healthy enough to race, I guess just not quite in time for trials. I’d be surprised to see her still not racing through these meets.