14-Year-Old Maxine Clark Becomes Youngest Canadian Under 1:00 in 100 Meter Fly

2022 Speedo Canadian Junior & Senior Championships

• July 25 – August 1, 2022
• Montreal, Quebec
• Olympic Park & Olympic Rowing Basin
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results

Maxine Clark of the University of Calgary Swim Club became the youngest Canadian and the first 13-14 year-old under the 1:00 mark in the women’s 100-meter butterfly at the 2022 Canadian national championships on Monday.

14-year-old Clark blasted a time of 59.86 to win the event and break seven-time Olympic medalist Penny Oleksiak’s national age group record by .17.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Clark told Swimming Canada. “I didn’t think at all I would get that record coming into this meet. It’s pretty awesome.”

Oleksiak swam as fast as 1:00.03 while she was competing in the 13-14 age group, but she never cracked 1:00.00. She set that national age group record at the 2015 Canadian Trials, about one year before she won silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics with a time of 56.46.

Monday night, Clark won the women’s 13-14 100 butterfly final by about 3.3 seconds and was the only swimmer in any age group to break 1:00 in the event, meaning her time would have also won the 15-17 and the 18 and over events. Her UCSC teammate Kamryn Cannings touched the wall first in the 15-17 category (1:00.01) while the University of British Columbia’s Danielle Hanus won the 18 and over race (1:00.02).

Going into this meet, Clark’s lifetime best 100 fly time was set at 1:01.13 which she swam earlier this month. In prelims, she crushed that time by nearly one second with a time of 1:00.18, breaking her own Alberta Provincial Record for 14-year-olds and jumping from the 6th all-time fastest swimmer in her age group to the second-fastest. Her finals race took another .32 off that time, surpassing Oleksiak to become the fastest Canadian 13-14-year-old in the event, ever.

All-Time Canadian Rankings, Girls’ 13-14 100 Butterfly (LCM)

1. Maxine Clark (UCSC), 59.86 – 2022 Canadian Championships
2. Penny Oleksiak (TSC), 1:00.03 – 2015 Canadian Swimming Trials
3. Noemie Thomas (WDSC), 1:00.20 – 2010 Junior Pan Pacs
4. Jade Hannah (HTAC), 1:00.69 – 2016 Canadian Olympic Trials
5. Chantal van Landeghem (MANTA), 1:00.92 – 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival

Clark still has a busy event lineup left in Quebec this week. She is entered in the 400 IM, 100 back, 400 free, 200 free, 200 IM, 200 fly,  100 free, 50 fly,  200 back, 800 free, and 50 free. She is seeded highest in the 50 fly (5th overall), 400 free (14th overall), and 200 free (14th overall.)