2024 Canadian Olympic Swim Trials

[Topicmaster1010 4,247]

50 minutes ago, Josh said:

@Topicmaster1010 Dergousoff isn’t on the entry list according to SwimSwam

Yes I mentioned that in the writeup . I still included a paragraph about him just in case he's a late entry.

[Topicmaster1010 4,247]

2024 Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials: Day 2 Preview

Image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 

An epic showdown awaits in the women's 100m breaststroke

 

Day 2 of Canadian trials may very well be the most exciting day on the program. Chances of qualifiers in every event plus two of the races I'm most looking forward to with the women's 200m freestyle and women's 100m breaststroke.

 

Men's 400m Individual Medley

 

Despite the difficult OQT, it’s very possible that Canada will have a representative in this event in Paris.

 

Lorne Wigginton made waves last year when he went 4:16.14 at Canadian Trials to qualify for his first senior team. He would then smash that time at Worlds by almost 3 seconds in 4:13.75 to just miss the final. Finally, he wound bring that time down again by almost a second to win bronze at the World Junior Championships in 4:12.81. He most recently went 4:14.54 at the 2024 World Championships, a decent time 3 months from Olympic Trials.

 

Also breaking out last year was Collyn Gagne. Like Wigginton, he also set a PB of 4:17.44 at 2023 Canadian Trials to qualify for his first senior team. He would set another PB at World Championships of 4:16.08 at World Chamionships and also had a good time of 4:17.05 at the Pan American Games to win the silver medal. More recently, he went 4:18.74 at the 2024 World Championships. He’ll still have to drop a bit of time to reach Olympic Qualification territory though.

 

The breakout swimmer of this year could very well be Tristan Jankovics. In 2023, he had times of 4:17.40 at the Canadian Championships and 4:17.70 at the US Open. He hasn’t swum a long course time in 2024 yet but had a good NCAA season finishing 4^th in the 400 yard IM at the Big Ten Championships and 8^th at the NCAA championships.

 

Eric Brown will also try to improve on his 4:18.90 PB he set at the 2023 US Open.

 

Predicted Qualifiers:

1. Lorne Wigginton

 

Women's 200m Freestyle

 

This event has all the makings of a bloodbath. There are 10-12 women who all have realistic chances of qualifying for the 4x200m freestyle relay. I am going to cover all the top 10 athletes because they all have a legitimate shot at making the relay. Buckle up, this is going to be a long preview.

 

If there’s any guarantees, it’s that Summer McIntosh should win with ease. The World Junior record holder has the fastest entry time by over 3 seconds. She first broke the 1:54 barrier for the first time last year at Canadian trials to win in 1:54.13. Then she lowered that mark to 1:53.65 to win bronze at the 2023 World Championships. This year, she has already been 1:54.21 at the Canadian Open, her 4^th fastest time ever and one of the fastest in season 200m freestyle performances ever. Expect her to easily get under the OQT and perhaps even challenge the 1:53 barrier if she decides to go all out.

 

The clear favourite for 2^nd place is Mary-Sophie Harvey. She has improved in this event so much this year. After setting a PB of 1:57.70 at the 2023 US Open, she’s lowered that to 1:57.26 at the Quebec Cup, 1:57.06 at the Camille Muffat Meeting and finally 1:56.76 at the Canadian Open in which she negative that race. She’ll be a favourite to get an individual and relay spot.

 

After that, the entry list gets a bit messy with a whole bunch of 1:58s. Rebecca Smith comes in with the next fastest time. Her time of 1:58.08 comes from the 2024 World Championship where she was able to advance to the semifinal. She also has recorded a 1:58.68 from the Canadian Championships along with some other 1:59 performances. Based on her 1:55 split from the 2020 Olympics along with her 1:57.43 PB, we all know she’s capable of much better times.

 

This event will also be another great chance for Ella Jansen to get herself on the Olympic Team. Her best time of 1:58.09 comes from the Mare Nostrum tour last year. However, she struggled at Worlds where the Canadian coaches opted not to use her in the relay finals at both the 2023 and 2024 editions. She also had a showing of 1:59.12 from the World Junior Championships. This year her best result is 1:58.88 from the Canadian Open so she is trending in the right direction.

 

Someone who did have a good showing a the World Junior Championships was Julie Brousseau. After going 1:59.05 at 2023 Canadian Trials, she brought that down to 1:58.60 at the Ontario Summer Championships before delivering a silver medal swim of 1:58.10 at World Juniors. This year, she was just off that time in 1:58.40 at the Canadian Open. This is her best chance of making the Olympic Team so she’s right on track to drop her PB down even further.

 

Brooklyn Douthwright had a solid showing last year to make her first world championship team. Despite only going 2:01.16 at Canadian trials, she improved on that mark considerably at the Mare Nostrum going 1:58.58 at the Mare Nostrum tour before splitting 1:58.25 on the 4x200m freestyle relay at 2023 World Championships. Last year she was the runner up at the NCAA yards version of this event but this year she didn’t make the final so hopefully that’s not a sign of regression.

 

Last year, Emma O’Croinin had her best season since 2019 when she won 3 world junior medals and one world championship medal. Her 1:58.94 from Canadian trials qualified her for the world championship team where she went on to have a 1:58.10 in the relay prelims. She recently went 1:59.48 at the Canadian Open.

Katerine Savard has been a long time relay contributer for Canada and she has a career best time of 1:57.13. However, she has yet to break the 1:59 barrier since the start of 2023 with her best time in that span being 1:59.44 at the 2023 Canadian trials. She’s failed to break 2 minutes in the other events she’s swam in. I think she’ll have a better shot of being on the 4x100m freestyle relay. But she usually saves her best swims for Canadian trials so you never know.

 

Penny Oleksiak will be the hardest swimmer to predict here. Although she’s been as fast as 1:54.70, her times since she got injured have not been close to that time. However, after she went 2:03.27 in March at the Pro Swim Series, she followed that up with a 1:59.75 swim at the Canadian Open so she’s definitely trending the right direction. At her trajectory, she has a great chance of finishing in the top 6.

 

Julia Strojnowska will also be looking to build off the 2:00.45 PB swim that she set at the Western Canadian Championships this year.

 

There’s two other swimmers not in the top 10 list that I think are also worth mentioning. Taylor Ruck, like Oleksiak is capable of going 1:54 when at her best. But since her injury, she hasn’t swum the 200m freestyle all that often with her only notable result being a 1:59.59 split on the 4x200m freestyle relay at 2024 World Championships. However, we can’t judge her form on this race since she spent the first part of the race catching up to the lead teams before dying on the last 50m. If she does swim this race, you would imagine she’ll also be a factor.

 

Then there’s Sienna Angove. Her best time is recorded as 2:00.50 but based on her 1:58.26 split at the 2024 World Championships, she should be capable of a much faster time than that.

 

Predicted Qualifiers:

1. Summer McIntosh (I am predicting she won’t swim this individually)

2. Mary-Sophie Harvey (individual + relay)

3. Julie Brousseau (individual + relay)

4. Penny Oleksiak (relay)

5. Rebecca Smith (relay)

6. Ella Jansen (relay)

 

You can never count Penny out in an Olympic year.

 

Men's 100m Backstroke

 

 

Blake Tierney heads into the men’s 100m backstroke as the top seed. He had his first 54 second outing at the 2023 Canadian Trials in 54.49 before lowering that to 54.13 at the Canadian Championships. However, he had a breakthrough meet at the 2024 World Championships where he lead off the medley relay in times of 53.98 and 53.65 with the later getting him under the OQT. At the Canadian Open, he went 55.41 which is right around his previous in season times.

 

Javier Acevedo is a veteran on the Canadian men’s team. While many thought his 2020 Olympic selection was questionable, he’s had a big resurgence in his times since then and now is firmly in position to make another Olympic team. This event is his best chance of getting an individual swim. Last year at Canadian trials, he clocked his best time (53.83) since 2017. While he hasn’t swam under 54 seconds since then, he tends to swim his best on home soil so the OQT should be in his sights.

 

Raben Dommann is another swimmer that’s improved since last years trials. After swimming 55.06, he clocked 54.71 at the Canadian championships and then had a 55.09 relay leadoff at the Pan American Games. Recently he went 55.16 at the Canadian Open.

 

If there is a swimmer who’s capable of a breakout at Olympic trials, it’s Aiden Norman. The 2006 born swimmer is ranked 2^nd in Canada this season with his time of 54.77 at the World Junior Championships. He recently swam 55.13 at the Provincial Championships and 55.13 at the Fran Crippen Memorial Meet. If we compare that to his times from last year at this point in time, he could be on track for a 54-low swim.

 

A couple of other names to monitor. Hugh McNeill did set PB in this event recently at the U-Sports Championships at 55.34. This could be a good sign for his 200m backstroke where he has the best chance to qualify for the Olympics. Cole Pratt was on track to become a world class backstroker back in 2021 before a shoulder injury in the ISL set him back. It showed last year when he only went 58.01 at Canadian trials and 59.21 at the Mare Nostrum. However, this year he’s already been as fast as 55.54 at the Canadian Open. Could be a sign of good things to come.

 

Predicted Qualifiers:

1. Blake Tierney

2. Javier Acevedo

 

Women's 100m Breaststroke

 

 

 

This has all the potential to be the best race of the meet. It was just a year ago that Canadian swim fans were desperate for a breaststroker and since then, 5 women have gone under 1:08. We had a sneak preview at the Canadian Open with Shona Branton beating out Kelsey Wog, Alexanne Lepage, and Sophie Angus.

 

I’m not sure if anyone expected Alexanne Lepage to come into Olympic trials as the top seed. She was only 1:09.66 at trials last year and  1:09.07 at the Canadian Championships. Then she came out of nowhere to win gold at the World Junior Championships in 1:06.58 knocking more than 2 seconds off her previous PB. She also went 1:07.60 in the semifinal as well. This year, she has been as fast as 1:07.72.

 

Another swimmer that’s made significant improvements is Shona Branton. After being only 1:08.77 at Canadian trials last year, she broke the 1:08 barrier for the first time at the Summer Ontario Championships going 1:07.95. Her breakout meet happened at the Euro Meet this year in January first going 1:07.10 in the heats and then 1:06.59 in the final to finish 0.01 below Lepage’s PB. She also had an impressive showing at the U-SPORTS championships where she beat Lepage in the individual event before splitting 1:06.24 on the medley relay. She recently went 1:07.40 at the Canadian Open to beat a very talented field of swimmers.

 

Sophie Angus has won each of the last two Canadian titles in this event. She won in times of 1:07.60 and 1:07.47. After lowering her PB to 1:07.34 at the World Aquatics Championships, she had established a monster PB of 1:06.66 at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships. However, her most impressive swims have arguably come in the medley relays. Since the beginning of 2023, she has always been in the 1:06 range with her best times being 1:06.21 and 1:06.24 from the 2023 and 2024 World Championships.

 

Although her entry time is a ways behind, it would be unwise to count Kelsey Wog out of the picture. She still has the fastest PB in the field at 1:06.44 and recently set a short course PB at 1:04.22. She’s recently been 1:07.35 at the Western Canadian Championships and 1:07.52 at the Canadian Open to just finish behind Branton.

 

Despite being 26 years old, Sydney Pickrem might be swimming the best she ever has now. Although her entry time is only 1:07.84, she recorded the fastest breakstroke split in her career at the 2024 World Championships in 1:06.14 showing she can swim in the 1:06 range.

 

Predicted Qualifiers:

1.      Shona Branton

2.      Sophie Angus

 

Branton has been swimming the best of any sprint breaststroker this season and Angus has shown she can get it done in the high pressure events.

Edited May 7 by Topicmaster1010

[Topicmaster1010 4,247]

PSYCH SHEETS!!!

Edited May 7 by Topicmaster1010

[james89 863]

20 minutes ago, Topicmaster1010 said:

PYSCH SHEETS!!!

Kharun on the 100m free list (in 44th which he's almost certainly better than). 

 

And it looks like Gaziev's "issue" is not yet resolved. 

[JoshMartini007 2,547]

Summer McIntosh is listed in:

 

400m Freestyle

200m Freestyle

100m Backstroke

400m Individual Medley

100m Freestyle

200m Butterfly

200m Individual Medley

 

I assume she's doing the 100m events as practice. I don't think she needs to do the free to be considered for the relay.

[intoronto 5,677]

any names missing?

Not seeing Gaziev or Bellio on the list.

[Josh 10,654]

Just now, intoronto said:

any names missing?

Not seeing Gaziev or Bellio on the list.

Dergousoff but that was to be expected

[Topicmaster1010 4,247]

1 hour ago, intoronto said:

any names missing?

Not seeing Gaziev or Bellio on the list.

No Abby Dunford either.

[Topicmaster1010 4,247]

I have compiled a list of swimmers that have over 800 AQUA points in an event along with all their events they're swimming at trials (ordered by last name):

 

Men:

 

• Javier Acevedo - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Back
• Alexander Axon - 200 Free, 400 Free, 800 Free, 1500 Free
• Jeremy Bagshaw - 100 Free, 200 Free, 400 Free
• Timothe Barbeau - 200 Free, 400 Free, 800 Free, 1500 Free, 200 Fly, 200 IM
• Eric Brown - 400 Free, 800 Free, 1500 Free, 400 IM
• Stephen Calkins - 50 Free, 100 Free, 100 Fly
• Paul Dardis - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Back, 200 Back
• Raben Dommann - 200 Free, 100 Back, 200 Back, 100 Fly, 200 IM
• Ethan Ekk - 100 Free, 200 Free, 400 Free, 100 Back, 200 Back
• Edouard Fullum-Huot - 50 Free, 100 Free
• Collyn Gagne - 200 IM, 400 IM
• Hayden Ghufran - 50 Free, 100 Free, 100 Fly, 200 Fly
• Andrew Herman - 100 Back, 200 Back
• Patrick Hussey - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Fly, 200 Fly, 200 IM
• Tristan Jankovics - 200 Free, 200 Back, 200 IM, 400 IM
• Ilya Kharun - 50 Free, 100 Free, 100 Fly, 200 Fly
• Laon Kim - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 400 Free, 1500 Free, 100 Fly, 200 IM
• Yuri Kisil - 50 Free, 100 Free
• Finlay Knox - 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Back, 100 Breast, 100 Fly, 200 IM
• Josh Liendo - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Fly
• Benjamin Loewen - 100 Back, 100 Fly, 200 Fly, 200 IM
• Gabe Mastromatteo - 100 Breast, 200 Breast, 100 Fly
• Hugh McNeill - 100 Back, 200 Back
• Justice Migneault - 100 Free, 100 Breast, 200 Breast, 100 Fly, 200 IM
• Aiden Norman - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Back, 200 Back, 100 Fly, 200 IM
• Sebastian Paulins - 200 Free, 400 Free, 800 Free, 1500 Free
• Cole Pratt - 100 Back, 200 Back
• Antoine Sauve - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free
• Filip Senc-Samardzic - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Fly
• Brayden Taivassalo - 100 Breast, 200 Breast
• Blake Tierney - 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Back, 200 Back, 200 IM
• Jordi Vilchez - 100 Free, 200 Free, 400 Free, 100 Fly, 200 Fly, 200 IM, 400 IM
• Lorne Wigginton - 200 Free, 400 Free, 100 Fly, 200 IM, 400 IM

 

Women:

 

• Bailey Andison - 200 IM, 400 IM
• Sienna Angove - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 400 Free, 800 Free, 200 IM, 400 IM
• Sophie Angus - 100 Breast, 200 Breast
• Shona Branton - 100 Breast, 200 Breast
• Julie Brousseau - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 400 Free, 800 Free, 200 Breast, 200 IM, 400 IM
• Bridget Burton - 100 Back, 200 Back
• Kamryn Cannings - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Fly, 200 Fly
• Tessa Cieplucha - 100 Breast, 200 Breast, 200 Fly, 200 IM, 400 IM
• Maxine Clark - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 400 Free, 800 Free, 200 Back, 100 Fly, 200 Fly, 200 IM
• Ella Cosgrove - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 400 Free, 800 Free, 100 Back, 200 Back
• Brooklyn Douthwright - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Back, 200 Back, 100 Fly, 200 IM
• Sarah Fournier - 50 Free, 100 Free
• Emma Finlin - 800 Free, 1500 Free
• Katie Forrester - 100 Fly, 200 Fly, 200 IM, 400 IM
• Madelyn Gatrall - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Back, 200 Back
• Jordan Greber - 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Back, 200 Back, 200 Breast, 200 IM
• Danielle Hanus - 50 Free, 100 Free, 100 Back, 100 Breast, 100 Fly, 200 IM
• Kathryn Hazle - 200 Free, 400 Free, 800 Free, 400 IM
• Mary-Sophie Harvey - 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Fly, 200 IM, 400 IM
• Kathryn Ivanov - 100 Breast, 200 Breast
• Ella Jansen - 100 Free, 200 Free, 400 Free, 800 Free, 200 Fly, 200 IM, 400 IM
• Madison Kryger - 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Back, 200 Back, 100 Fly, 200 IM
• Nina Kucheran - 100 Breast, 200 Breast, 200 IM
• Alexanne Lepage - 100 Breast, 200 Breast, 200 IM
• Delia Lloyd - 50 Free, 100 Free, 100 Back, 200 Back
• Maggie MacNeil - 100 Free, 100 Fly
• Kylie Masse - 100 Back, 200 Back, 100 Fly
• Summer McIntosh - 100 Free, 200 Free, 400 Free, 100 Back, 200 Fly, 200 IM, 400 IM
• Ashley McMillan - 100 Free, 100 Back, 100 Breast, 200 IM
• Ainsley McMurray - 50 Free, 100 Free
• Emma O'Croinin - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 400 Free, 200 IM
• Penny Oleksiak - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free
• Amaris Peng - 100 Breast, 200 Breast
• Sydney Pickrem - 100 Breast, 200 Breast, 200 IM, 400 IM
• Regan Rathwell - 50 Free, 100 Back, 200 Back
• Victoria Raymond - 50 Free, 100 Back, 200 Back, 100 Fly, 200 Fly
• Taylor Ruck - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Back
• Katerine Savard - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Fly
• Katelyn Schroeder - 100 Back, 200 Back, 200 IM
• Rebecca Smith - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Fly
• Julia Strojnowska - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 400 Free, 800 Free, 1500 Free, 100 Fly, 200 Fly, 200 IM, 400 IM
• Jenna Walters - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 200 Back
• Mia West - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Fly, 200 Fly
• Megan Willar - 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 400 Free, 800 Free, 1500 Free
• Ingrid Wilm - 100 Back, 200 Back
• Avery Wiseman - 100 Breast, 200 Breast
• Kelsey Wog - 100 Breast, 200 Breast
• Mabel Zavaros - 400 Free, 800 Free, 200 Fly, 200 IM, 400 IM

[Topicmaster1010 4,247]

2024 Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials: Day 3 Preview

Image Source Kylie Masse looks to qualify in the 100m backstroke for the 3rd straight Olympics

 

Although not as stacked of a day as Day 2, Day 3 still presents qualification opportunities in all 4 events with a lot of intrigue surrounding who will be on the men's 4x200m freestyle relay.

 

Men's 200m Freestyle

 

 

Despite the mediocre entry times, this should still be a fun and close race with relay spots on the line.

 

Javier Acevedo comes in with the top seed. His 200m freestyle times have improved vastly over the past two years with 3 of his best 4 swims coming in that time period. His personal best of 1:47.72 was set at the 2023 Canadian Trials. This year, he’s set times of 1:49.82 at the Knoxville TYR Pro Swim Series and 1:48.89 at the 2024 World Championships. He’ll be looking for back to back Canadian Championships in this event.

 

Finlay Knox is also expected to contend for top spot in this race. While his PB still remains at the 1:47.92 he clocked at 2022 Canadian trials, he has already produced times of 1:48.17 and 1:48.39 at the 2024 World Championships and Canadian Open. He failed to break the 1:49.00 mark altogether in 2023 so this is a very encouraging sign that Finley can get back to the 1:47 mark in time for trials and be a key contributor on the relay.

 

Patrick Hussey will be trying to get into the 1:47 range for the first time in his career. He broke through in this event in a big way last year clocking 1:48.39 at Canadian Trials, dropping over a second off his previous PB. Since then, he’s followed that up with a 1:49.91 at the Canadian Championships and times of 1:48.67 and 1:48.79 at the US Open in December. He doesn’t have a recorded long course time in the event this year so it’s hard to gage where he’s at.

 

Lorne Wigginton is one of the new faces in this event for Canada. However, the Canadian coaches already seem to have a lot of trust in him by using him as an anchor for the 4x200m Freestyle Relay in Doha where he split 1:47.83. This year, he went 1:48.84 at the Canadian Open to smash his previous PB of 1:50.87 from the 2023 Canadian Championships. His new PB puts him right in the middle of contention.

 

At the other end of the spectrum, we have 32 year old Jeremy Bagshaw. This is his best chance to qualify for his first Olympics. His personal best rests at 1:47.48 back from 2015. Over the Olympic qualification period, his best time stands at 1:49.27 from 2023 Canadian trials. He’s gone under 1:50 once this year at the Flander’s Cup in 1:49.84. He’ll likely need to drop some time if he wants to grab one of the relay spots.

 

We go back to the youth as Laon Kim is next on the entry list. Kim is arguably the most exciting teenage swimmer in Canada at the moment (who’s first name is not a season). He has 7 individual long course age group records to his name and he’ll figure this is his best chance of making it on the Olympic Team. After going 1:52.82 at Canadian Trials last year, he broke that mark 3 more times to finally set his PB at 1:49.62 at the Canadian Championships. He most recently went 1:51.25 to take 2^nd place in the event at the Fran Crippen Memorial Meet. Given his young age and talent level, he could very well have another significant time drop.

 

Josh Liendo might be the most interesting entry here. Known mostly as a 50m and 100m swimmer, he’s done the 200m freestyle sparingly over the years. He swam a PB of 1:49.88 in the heats of Canadian Trials last year before scratching the final. However, given his talent upside, it’s possible that he has a 1:47 time in him.

 

Tristan Jankovics, Filip Senc-Samardzic and Ethan Ekk will also look to build upon their PBs that they’ve set this season.

 

Spoiler

Predicted Qualifiers:

1. Finlay Knox (relay only)

2. Javier Acevedo (relay only)

3. Lorne Wigginton (relay only)

4. Laon Kim (relay only)

 

I considered putting Liendo in there but I think there’s a possibility he scratches the final again which would open the door for Laon Kim. Besides, I really want to see Kim make the Olympic Team.

 

Women's 100m Backstroke

 

 

A mix of veterans and teenagers make this one of the more interesting races at these Olympic trials.

 

To no one’s surprise, Kylie Masse comes in as the top seed. Masse has done just about everything you can in international swimming besides winning an Olympic gold medal. However, she had a rough season last year failing to win an individual medal at World Championships and only breaking 59 seconds one time. She’s already looking in much better form this year going 58.93 at the Spanish Winter Championships in February. She didn’t break 59 seconds at all at an in season meet so this bodes well for this summer. Given her track record and ability to put down fast times when it matters, we would expect Masse to have no problems qualifying for her 3^rd Olympics.

 

Someone who has yet to make an Olympic appearance is Ingrid Wilm. Now 25 years old, she’s been swimming the best she’s ever swam in long course. She’s had more success in short course over her career but now she’s finally translating her swims to the bigger pool. Last year she broke 59 seconds for the 1^st time in her career going 58.80 to stun Masse at 2023 Trials. She would follow that up with a 5^th place showing at 2023 World Championships where she went 59.11. She clocked her 2^nd sub 59 time at the 2024 World Championships this year where she led off the medley relay in 58.95. Having broken the minute mark 6 times this year (most recently at the Canadian Open), she’s on good track to make finally make the Olympic team.

 

Not many people expected Summer McIntosh to swim this event but here she is as the 3^rd seed. More known for her freestyle, butterfly and IM swimming, McIntosh also happens to be a world class backstroker as well. After going 1:00.25 at the 2023 Orlando Sectionals, she destroyed that mark a year later setting her current PB at 59.64. She also went 59.96 to place 2^nd in this event at the Canadian Open. Given her immense talent, it’s possible she might place in the top two here. However, the chances of her actually swimming this in Paris are next to none.

 

Taylor Ruck comes in with the 2^nd fastest PB in the field but is only seeded 4^th year. She had an injury plagued 2023 with her only appearances coming at a World Cup stop in Budapest where she recorded a time of 1:01.24. This year she’s swam this event at all 3 Pro Swim Series stops recording times of 1:01.04, 1:00.30 and 1:00.47. She’s trending in the right direction and if she rounds back into form, she’ll challenge for an individual spot.

 

The backstroke events at these trials feature two of the more exciting teenagers at these trials. The first of which is Delia Lloyd. She’s shown immense improvement over the last year. After going 1:02.44 at 2023 Canadian trials, she then lowered that time to 1:01.83 at the Summer Ontario Championships before placing a respectable 5^th at the World Junior Championships in 1:01.08. She’s done even better this year winning the Winter Ontario Championships in 1:00.45. She most recently went 1:00.68 at the Canadian Open. With her continued improvement, she could very well get under the OCT or even the OQT.

 

The other exciting teenage prospect is Madison Kryger. She made waves last summer at the Canadian Championships where she become the #2 Canadian performer in the 13-14 age group. Now 15 years old, she lowered her PB to under 1:02 at the Winter Ontario Championships (1:01.48) and at the recent Canadian Open, moved her PB under 1:01 in 1:00.81. She’s got serious potential and is one to watch in this race.

 

Spoiler

Predicted Qualifiers:

1. Kylie Masse

2. Ingrid Wilm

 

Men's 200m Breaststroke

 

 

To be honest, I don’t have much to say about this event. With James Dergousoff not here, this event looks like it’ll be one man vs. the clock.

 

Brayden Taivassalo will be the man to watch here. His PB of 2:10.89 is almost 4 seconds ahead of the next fastest swimmer entered in this event. Last year, he had the swim of his life to upset James Dergousoff at Canadian Trials. The 2:11.28 he swum was a whopping 7 seconds faster than he was at 2022 Trials (although he did gradually improve to a 2:14.54 before trials). He would improve on that again at the Pan American Games to win silver with a time of 2:10.89 to put him within potential striking distance of the OQT. This past year, he capped his stellar NCAA season with a win in the 200 yard breaststroke at the Big 12 Championships. He could very well be due for another time drop.

 

After that, the times are uninspiring to say the least. Justice Migneault, Apollo Hess and Gabe Mastromatteo have all had 2:14 clockings their career. Migneault had the most recent of those times swimming at the 2023 Canadian Trials. It’ll be interesting to see if Mastromatteo can round back to his 2019-21 form.

 

If there is a swimmer who has the potential to be the Taivassalo from last year’s trials (i.e drop serious time), it’s Oliver Dawson. Despite being born in 2008, he comes in with the 6^th fastest time. After going 2:18.48 at last years’ Canadian Trials, he went 2:17.70 at the World Junior Championships and recently set a new PB of 2:17.13 at the Western Canadian Championships.

 

Spoiler

Predicted Qualifiers:

1. Brayden Taivassalo

 

Probably a bit of a bold prediction but I’m going to predict a big time drop for Taivassalo to just get under the OQT.

 

Women's 1500m Freestyle

 

 

Just like the men’s 200m breaststroke, this looks like a one-woman race vs. the clock especially with the absence of the likes of Katrina Bellio and Abby Dunford.

 

Emma Finlin comes in with the top time by almost 30 seconds. She’s been on a significant improvement curve over the past few years. After being stuck in the 16:40 range for a year, she produced a time of 16:31.49 in March 2023 at the Alberta Provincial Championships before smashing that mark 27 days later at Canadian trials to record a mark of 16:20.61. She’s only swum this event twice after that though. First was a 16:15.77 at the 2023 World Championships to finish 12^th. She also swam a 16:33.49 at the Western Canadian Championships. The one advantage she has over every other swimmer at these trials is that she’s already qualified for Paris in the open water events. That means that as long as she reaches the OCT of 16:13.94, she should be qualified in the 1500m freestyle too. That is a time that she’s less than two seconds away from.

 

After Finlin, we have Laila Oravsky, Julia Strojnowska, and Megan Willar who are all in the 16:40 range. Of those swimmers, Strojnowska has the fastest season’s best and could be the swimmer who could drop a lot of time here.

 

Spoiler

Predicted Qualifiers:

1. Emma Finlin (whether through OQT or OCT)

 

Either way, she’ll be on the plane to Paris.

Edited May 8 by Topicmaster1010