Day two of the Canada Cup in Montréal, Que. took place today, spotlighting some of Canada’s fastest athletes.
The 200m backstroke capped off tonights finals. Oakville Aquatic Club’s Annie Harrison took the win in a swift 2:13.86. Harrison took the lead in the race at the 100m mark and held on to secure the win over 15-year-old Meryn McCann from the Etobicoke who grabbed the silver in 2:14.41. NCAA All-American and Canadian national team member Marni Oldershaw finished fifth in the final representing Club Wolverine. Harrison is the 13-14 year-old Canadian record holder in the event.
James Wells from Badger Swim Club took the win in the mens 200m backstroke, throwing down a 2:01.87 for the win. Also in the final were two of Canada’s top youth up-and-comers: Tristan Cote and Matthew Myers. Myers, a backstroke specialist, finished second in 2:02.47 behind Wells. Cote finished in sixth with a time of 2:09.51. Cote had a great freshman season at the University of Calgary taking home a CIS title in the 1500m freestyle, and a third place finish in the 400m IM.
Chantal VanLandeghem got her hand on the wall first in the 100m freestyle in 55.15. Behind her was Canadian sprint veteran Victoria Poon in 55.34 and Sandrine Mainville in 55.83. All three girls will be representing Canada at the Pan Pacs and Commonwealth Games this summer.
It was a Club Wolverine showdown in the mens 100m freestyle as Club Wolverine swimmers went 1-2-3 in the event. Hassan Abdel-Khalik just narrowly out-touched Geoffrey Cheah to the wall 51.33 to 51.35. Sean Fletcher finished third in 51.42.
Audrey Lacroix and Katerine Savard who will both be representing Canada at championship meets this summer in the fly events gave the world a little preview as to where the two of them are at. The two faced off in the 20m fly final tonight, the veteran Lacroix coming out on top in 2:08.25. That time moves her from 14th in the world this year to 13th, beating out Camille Adams of the United States. Savard finished behind Lacroix tonight in 2:09.41. Lacroix’s biggest move was during the last 50 where she made up almost a second on Savard.
Ryu Hochan won the mens 200m fly tonight representing J-Dolphins Swim School. Hochan just completed his freshman year at the University of Toronto and specializes in the 200m fly. The 19-year-old posted a time of 2:03.78 to take the win.
The women’s 50m breaststroke final showed some of Québec’s top swimmers as Marie-Soleil Jean-Lapachelle took the win in a quick 32.19. Following her way back was second place finisher Marie-Laurence Godin from the Point-Claire Swim Club in 32.80. Rounding out the top three was Marie-Lou Lapointe in 33.11.
Club Wolverine’s Richard Funk took it out hard in the mens 50m breaststroke, continuing his dominance in Canadian breaststroke with a big win tonight in 28.40. Following him in second place was teammate Zachary Hayden in 28.65.
The last individual events of the night were the mens and women’s 400m freestyles. Lindsay Vrooman from Badger Swim Club won the women’s version of the event in 4:12.38. Behind her was 15-year-old Courtney Harnish from York YMCA with a fast 4:13.85.
The mens 400m freestyle featured a battle between two Etobicoke swimmers: Tristan Cote and Aly Abdel-Khalik. The two stayed fairly close to each other throughout the race but in the end Cote came out on top to win the event in 3:55.51 over Abdel-Khalik’s 3:59.14.
The meet also features a few Paralympic events. In the first one tonight, 17-year-old Justine Morriers won the women’s 100m backstroke in 1:19.03. The mens event was won by one of Canada’s most successful Paralympic athletes: Benoit Hûot. Hûot won the event in 1:04.29.
The 100m freestyle was won by Aurélie Rivard in 1:01.86. Hûot added another win tonight, taking the mens version of the event in 57.14 over Isaac Bouckley’s 59.58.
For full meet results click here.