Swimming Canada will send its Olympic 4×100 medley and 4×100 free relays to the Arena Pro Swim Series at Charlotte to conclude a weeklong “relay camp.”
A Swimming Canada press release reports that the nation will send 15 Olympic team nominees to a four-day training camp at the Toronto facility that hosted last summer’s Pan Ams, then fly that group to Charlotte, North Carolina to compete in this weekend’s Arena Pro Swim Series event.
The training camp has already begun, running from Sunday, May 8 through Wednesday, May 11. The Pro Swim Series meet begins Thursday, May 12 and continues through Sunday, May 15.
Swimming Canada says its 15-member roster will compete in individual events, and that USA Swimming has made special accommodations to let Team Canada compete in relays during the time trial sessions between prelims and finals.
14 of the 15 swimmers on Canada’s roster are locked into Olympic spots. The 15th, breaststroker Jason Block, will make the team if the men’s 4×100 medley relay is selected to the Olympic Games when the final qualifying period ends on May 31.
Here’s the full roster below, plus each swimmer’s relay events:
Men:
- Javier Acevedo (4×100 medley)
- Jason Block (4×100 medley)
- Santo Condorelli (4×100 medley, 4×100 free)
- Yuri Kisil (4×100 medley, 4×100 free)
- Markus Thormeyer (4×100 free)
- Evan Van Moerkerke (4×100 free)
Women:
- Dominique Bouchard (4×100 medley)
- Kierra Smith (4×100 medley)
- Penny Oleksiak (4×100 medley, 4×100 free, 4×200 free)
- Chantal van Landeghem (4×100 medley, 4×100 free)
- Michelle Williams (4×100 free)
- Sandrine Mainville (4×100 free)
- Kylie Masse (4×100 medley)
- Rachel Nicol (4×100 medley)
- Taylor Ruck (4×200 free)
Per the Swimming Canada press release “The group is made up of the likely candidates for the men’s and women’s 4×100-m freestyle and 4×100-m medley relays for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.”
Confirmation from the proverbial horse’s mouth that Taylor Ruck is being considered for the 4x100m freestyle relay.
One surprise omission from the relay training camp- no Noemie Thomas. Exams? On paper, the fastest medley relay would appear to be Thomas swimming fly and Oleksiak swimming free … Noemie is hundredths behind Oleksiak’s national record in the 100m fly, whereas van Landeghem is 5 tenths back in the 100m free.
Taylor Ruck is the only entrant not “officially” entered in a 4×100. Seems like the coaches are keeping an eye on her for possible 4×100 FR or MR duty.
Mack Darragh may have won the 100 fly but santo condorelli has a much faster best time. However, he was disqualified in prelims of the 100 fly. Since Swimming Canada has final say they must have felt like Santo gets the spot.
Where’s Mack Darragh? Did he quietly get bumped from the team?