Disclaimer: Blueseventy Swim of the Week is not meant to be a conclusive selection of the best overall swim of the week, but rather one Featured Swim to be explored in deeper detail. The blueSeventy Swim is an opportunity to take a closer look at the context of one of the many fast swims this week, perhaps a swim that slipped through the cracks as others grabbed the headlines, or a race we didn’t get to examine as closely in the flood of weekly meets.
If you told Olympic-only swim fans (aka those who only realize the sport exists when it’s on mainstream NBC) that a 17-year-old from Canada was stealing the show in the early goings of 2018, they’d expect Olympic co-champ Penny Oleksiak. But it’s Taylor Ruck who is dominating the Commonwealth Games, most notably with her Commonwealth record 200 free.
Ruck went 1:54.81 to win the 200 free at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, shattering the Canadian national record, the meet record and the overall Commonwealth record in one fell swoop. Ruck now ranks #7 all-time in the event, moving up to tie 2012 Olympic champ Missy Franklin.
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Fastest Performers Ever
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| 1 | Federica Pellegrini | 1:52.98 |
| 2 | Allison Schmitt | 1:53.61 |
| 3 | Katie Ledecky | 1:53.73 |
| 4 | Sarah Sjostrom | 1:54.08 |
| 5 | Camille Muffat | 1:54.66 |
| 6 | Femke Heemskerk | 1:54.68 |
| 7 | Missy Franklin | 1:54.81 |
| 7 | Taylor Ruck | 1:54.81 |
| 9 | Emma McKeon | 1:54.83 |
| 10 | Ariarne Titmus | 1:54.85 |
Adding a silver in the 50 free, bronze in the 100 free, silver in 200 back, bronze in 100 back plus three relay silvers, Ruck has won a whopping 8 medals on the Gold Coast this week – the most by a Canadian swimmer at Commonwealths since 1966.
At just 17, Ruck is well on her way to becoming one of Canada’s most-decorated athletes in history. She’s already the nation’s all-time leading medalist at the World Junior Championships, having won 9 golds and 13 total medals between 2015 and 2017. Meanwhile she also has four short course World Championships medals to go with two Olympic bronzes.
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Haha, “olympic only swim-fans” have no idea who either of these two swimmers are (at least in the USA). Olympic only swim fans could probably only name 5-6 swimmers who won medals in Rio. Also, if you are going to respond to this comment saying you know who they are, you are not an Olympic only swim fan…there are none of those on this site. But I do get your point.
But yes she had/is having a great meet and congrats to Taylor.
Great meet. No it was not a global meet but the times, her schedule. Very very impressive
Taylor Ruck, when she joins Stanford will be a wonderful replacement for Simone Manuel. Now if Penny and Kayla will also become Trees, that would be something to really fear LOL.
Oleksiak can’t become a college swimmer because she has sponsors already and is earning money as a pro athlete
She can still swim in Canadian Universities though. She can’t get an athletic scholarship anymore, but as an Olympic Champion, her sponsorship will probably pay more than that anyway.