2024 Canadian Olympic & Paralympic Trials: Day 6 Prelims Live Recap

2024 CANADIAN OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC TRIALS

• May 13-19, 2024
• Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre – Toronto, Ontario
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• How To Watch
• Swimming Canada Olympic Selection Criteria
• Psych Sheets (Updated 05/10)
• Live Results
• Prelims – Day 1 Recap | Day 2 Recap | Day 3 Recap | Day 4 Recap | Day 5 Recap
• Finals – Day 1 Recap | Day 2 Recap | Day 3 Recap | Day 4 Recap | Day 5 Recap

Day 6 Prelims Heat Sheets

Good morning everyone! I hope that this fine Saturday morning finds you with a good cup of coffee (if that’s your thing) and ready for another fast day of swimming at the 2024 Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Trials.

Live Stream:

Courtesy: CBC Sports

I hope that you’re awake because if we’re going by the session timeline–perhaps naively–then this session should clock in at just an hour and a half long, so it’s going to blitz by.

First up, we’ll be on record watch for both the women’s and men’s para 100 backstrokes. Both Jaime Cosgriffe and Reid Maxwell have already taken down Canadian Para records in their respective classifications already this meet, so they are clearly on form. Maxwell has already broken the Canadian Para S8 record once this year, bringing it to 1:09.48 this spring.

The women’s 200 butterfly will feature Canadian and world junior record holder Summer McIntosh. She scratched the 100 freestyle yesterday, so she’s had a day of rest between now and her world record in the 400 IM. She won’t show her cards this morning, but look for her to position herself well to put the hammer down in finals.

The last two prelims events are the men’s 200 IM and 50 freestyle. In the former, we’ll get a look at Finlay Knox in his signature event; he’s already likely earned a spot on the Olympic team via his first place in the 100 breast (for the medley relay) and third in the 100 freestyle, but he could earn an individual berth in finals.

Knox has been swimming well this week and so have Josh Liendo and Ilya Kharun, who we’ll see in the 50 freestyle. Both have already punched thier tickets to Paris as well. Liendo matched his 100 freestyle personal best en route to winning the 100 freestyle; he owns the Canadian record in the 50, so we could be back on record watch for this event in finals as well.

Women’s Para 100 Backstroke — Prelims

• Canadian Para Record S6: 1:20.76 — Shelby Newkirk (2022)
• Canadian Para Record S7: 1:19.99 — Shelby Newkirk (2019)
• Candian Para Record S9: 1:09.30 — Stephanie Dixon (2008)
• Canadian Para Record S10: 1:05.90 — Summer Mortimer (2012)
• Candian Para Record S13: 1:09.90 — Chelsey Gotell (2008)
• Canadian Para Record S14: 1:11.59 — Emma Van Dyk (2023)

Top 10:

1. Jaime Cosgriffe (OAK) S10 — 1:09.45 (966 Para Points)
2. Shelby Newkirk (LASER) S6 — 1:23.70 (938 Para Points)
3. Aurelie Rivard (CNQ) S10 — 1:12.40 (863 Para Points)
4. Mary Jibb (MUSAC) S9 — 1:13.82 (860 Para Points)
5. Emma Van Dyk (BROCK) S14 — 1:10.99 (844 Para Points) *New S14 Para Record*
6. Maxime Lavitt (UL) S13 — 1:12.27 (1:12.27 Para Points)
7. Arianna Hunsicker (UL) S10 — 1:15.15 (781 Para Points)
8. Ruby Stevens (RCAQ) S6 — 1:33.10 (720 Para Points)
9. Katarine Roxon (AASC) S9 — 1:23.88 (624 Para Points)

Emma Van Dyk got the session started with a bang, breaking her own Canadian Para S14 Record in the 100 backstroke. Van Dyk swam her standard of 1:11.59 last season. Today, she broke 1:11 for the first time, just getting under that barrier for a new record and personal best of 1:10.99.

Men’s Para 100 Backstroke — Prelims

• Canadian Para Record S7: 1:24.40 — Jean-Michel Lavalliere (2015)
• Canadian Para Record S8: 1:09.48 — Reid Maxwell (2024)
• Canadian Para Record S10: 1:00.33 — Benoit Hout (2016)

Top 10: 

1. Reid Maxwell (EKSC) S8 — 1:11.09 (790 Para Points)
2. Alexander Elliot (CNQ) S10 — 1:05.05 (757 Para Points)
3. Charle Gianmichele (GHAC) S7 — 1:29.81 (514 Para Points)

All three swimmers — Reid Maxwell, Alexander Elliot, and Charle Gianmichele all put themselves in position to qualify for the Paralympic Games in the 100 backstroke. Maxwell and Elliot have already swum the MSQ time in other events and are now looking to add to their Paralympic programs.

Maxwell led the way in Para Points via his 1:11.09. That’s about two seconds off his personal best and Canadian record of 1:09.48, which he swam earlier this season.

Women’s 200 Butterfly — Prelims

• World Record: 2:01.81 — Liu Zige, China (2009)
• World Junior Record: 2:04.06 — Summer McIntosh, Canada (2023)
• Canadian Record: 2:04.06 — Summer McIntosh (2023)
• Olympic Qualifying Time: 2:08.43

Top 10:

1. Summer McIntosh (UN-CAN) — 2:11.16
2. Mabel Zavaros (MAC) — 2:12.76
3. Katie Forrester (MAC) — 2:13.79
4. Breckin Gormley (NKB) — 2:14.08
5. Ashlyn Massey (PCSC) — 2:14.38
6. Clare Watson (UN-CAN) — 2:14.80
7. Leilani Fack (LOSC) — 2:16.62
8. Mia West (MANTA) — 2:16.74
9. Angela Jiachen Wang (MAC) — 2:17.01
10. Genevieve Sasseville (WS) — 2:17.60

Summer McIntosh swam well within herself to take the top time of the morning in the women’s 200 butterfly. She’s had a day of rest after scratching out of the 100 freestyle, and she looked controlled as she split 28.80/32.73/34.62/35.01 en route to a 2:11.16.

Next to her in the final heat, Mabel Zavaros pushed on the back half. Zavaros touched 2nd in 2:12.76, which also stood up for 2nd overall heading into the final. She’s a second ahead of the 3rd fastest qualifier. It’s going to be tough for anyone in this field to join McIntosh under the Olympic Qualifying Time, but Zavaros may be the most likely candidate. She qualified for the 2023 World Championships but pulled out due to injury, which she’s been working her way back from. It would still take a personal best from Zavaros by more than a second to swim the OQT.

In heat 3, Sarah Hardy set the tone with a big personal best of 2:18.66. She blew past the 2:20 barrier, which she had never been under before in her career. Her previous best was a 2:21.15 from July 2023. That stood up through the final un-circle-seeded heat as Iris Tinmouth took the win there with a personal best of her own, 2:18.84.

Breckin Gormley and Clare Watson brought the top times of the morning way down in the next heat–the first of the circle seeded ones. Gormley, who races for University of South Carolina in the NCAA, swam a personal best of 2:14.08 to take over as the fastest time of the morning. In April, she’d set her previous best at 2:15.32. Clare Watson was close behind her, taking second in 2:14.80.

Katie Forrester held off a late charge from Ashlyn Massey to take the win in heat 6. Forrester touched in 2:13.78, resetting the top time of the morning again. Massey touched second in 2:14.38, taking three second off from her entry time for a new personal best.

Men’s 200 IM — Prelims

• World Record: 1:54.00 — Ryan Lochte, United States (2011)
• World Junior Record: 1:56.99 — Hubert Kos, Hungary (2021)
• Canadian Record: 1:56.64 — Finlay Knox (2024
• Olympic Qualifying Time: 1:57.94

Top 10: 

1. Tristan Jankovics (RCAQ) — 2:00.56
2. Finlay Knox (SCAR) — 2:00.80
3. Collyn Gagne (LOSC) — 2:01.35
4. Lorne Wigginton (HP-CON) — 2:01.42
5. Raben Dommann (HPCVN) — 2:03.39
6. Blake Tierney (GOLD) — 2:03.54
7. Jordi Vilchez (BTSC) — 2:03.55
8. Sebastian Lunak (UNC) — 2:04.06
9. Marcus Mak (ISC) — 2:04.40
10. Justice Migneault (HPCVN) — 2:05.16

Oliver Dawson has been having an incredible meet, winning the 200 breaststroke and breaking the Canadian Age Group Record twice. He continued his momentum in heat 2 of the men’s 200 IM, shattering his personal best with a 2:07.34.

In the next heat, Lorne Wigginton posted a 2:01.42, which is an in-season best time (he swam 2:00.32 at the 2024 World Championships). In the next heat, we got a head to head between Tristan Jankovics and Blake Tierney, both of whom have qualified for the first Olympic teams in individual events this week.

Jankovics took over the lead from Tierney on the breaststroke leg and powered ahead for the eat 4 win in 2:00.56. He’s broken 2:00 before with a personal best of 1:59.06 and based on his 400 IM he could certainly have something big in store for the final tonight.

In the final, he’ll be racing the reigining world champion Finlay Knox. In the last heat, Raben Dommann briefly took over the lead from Knox on the backstroke leg. But Knox regained control on the back half of the race and won the heat with a 2:00.80, which slots him in as the second fastest qualifier behind Jankovics.

Collyn Gagne also passed Dommann on the back 100 meters of the final heat. He touched in 2:01.35, good for 3rd overall.

Men’s 50 Freestyle — Prelims

• World Record: 20.91 — Cesar Cielo, Brazil (2009)
• World Junior Record: 21.75 — MIchael Andrew, United States (2017)
• Canadian Record: 21.61 — Josh Liendo (2022)
• Olympic Qualifying Time: 21.96

Top 10: 

1. Josh Liendo (NYAC) — 21.72
2. Yuri Kisil (CASC) — 22.11
3. Edouard Fullum-Hout (PCSC) — 22.25
4. Liam Weaver (CASC) — 22.57
5. Ali Sayed (CAMO) — 22.61
6. Ilya Kharun (UN-CAN) — 22.78
7. Stephen Calkins (UCSC) — 22.84
8. Justin Baker (NYAC)/Javier Acevedo (AJAX) — 22.85
9. —
10. Owen Guyn (LASC) — 23.03

Josh Liendo was well under the Olympic Qualifying Time in prelims of the men’s 50 free. Liendo neared his own Canadian record in the event, posting a 21.72 to take the top time heading into the final tonight. Two days ago, Liendo tied his personal best in the 100 freestyle (47.55) to win the event and punch his ticket to Paris.

He’s in strong position to add another event to his Olympic program in the 50 freestyle. He was the only man under 22 seconds in prelims and now sits just outside the top 10 in the world rankings for this season. Yuri Kisil touched second in a season-best 22.11. Kisil took a break during this past Olympic cycle but he’s shown up to Canadian Trials in full force; he finished second in the 100 free and under the OQT to put both an individual and relay event on his Olympic schedule.

After finishing 5th in the 100 freestyle, Edouard Fullum-Hout looked strong in his last best shot to make the Olympic tema. Fullum-Hout knocked a hundredth off his lifetime best with his 22.25 for 3rd overall.

There’s a gap to the rest of the final as Liam Weaver‘s personal best 22.57 for 4th starts a flurry of 22-mids. Also in the mix are Ali Sayed with a new personal best (22.61) and Ilya Kharun, who sits 6th after a 22.78.

Women’s 800 Freestyle — Timed Final, Slower Heats

• World Record: 8:04.79 — Katie Ledecky, United States (2016)
• World Junior Record: 8:11.00 — Katied Ledecky, UNited States (2014)
• Canadian Record: 8:11.39 — Summer McIntosh (2024)
• Olympic Qualifying Time: 8:26.71

Running Top 10: 

1. Tori Meklensek (DSC) — 9:02.12
2. Helen Sava (RAMAC) — 9:05.95
3. Elle Couture (RDCSC) — 9:09.54
4. Katie Marovino (ESWIM) — 9:10.17
5. Mariana Cabezas Garzon (ESWIM) — 9:10.40
6. Emily De Jager (UCSC) — 9:12.48
7. Brynne LeRoy (UBCT) — 9:12.67
8. Kaiya Weaver (ISC) — 9:16.29
9. Lila Koropatniski (ISC) — 9:16.64
10. Kaitlyn Besner (PCSC) — 9:17.00

Tori Meklensek got the ball rolling in the timed finals of the women’s 800 freestyle. From lane 0 of heat 1, she swam away from the field. She chopped 6.81 seconds from her lifetime best, dropping from 9:08.93 in May 2023 to 9:02.12 almost exactly a year later.

Helen Sava touched second, further back in 9:05.95. Through the next two heats, the top four times from heat 1 stood up as the fastest four times of the morning.

As a reminder, since this is a timed final swimmers can place in the top 10 from the slower heats.

Mariana Cabezas Garzon won heat 2 in a personal best 9:10.40. Taylor McPherson was the final heat winner of the session, taking the third heat of the women’s 800 freestyle in a personal best of her own, 9:19.05.