2025 CANADIAN SWIMMING TRIALS
- Saturday, June 7 – Thursday, June 12, 2025
- Victoria, British Columbia
- Victoria Saanich Commonwealth Place
- LCM (50 meters)
- World Championship Selection Criteria
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Storylines To Watch
- Recaps
Canadian teenager Antoine Sauve broke the Canadian Record in the 200 meter freestyle on Thursday evening to close the Canadian Swimming Trials. He had the fastest time of the evening by over two seconds, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll get an individual swim in the vent at the World Championships – because he did so in the “B” final.
Sauve, who is committed to swim in America at the University of Michigan next season, swam 1:46.39 to finish 9th overall and win the “B” final. That shaved .01 seconds off the previous record set at the 2008 Olympics by Canadian swimming legend Brent Hayden.
That was the second-oldest individual national record on Canada’s books, behind only Brian Johns‘ 4:11.41 in the 400 IM that was set a day earlier.
Hayden set his record in prelims, qualifying 3rd to the semi-finals, but wound up scratching out of the latter rounds at those Olympics.
| Antoine Sauve | Brent Hayden | |
| 2025 Canadian Swimming Trials |
2008 Summer Olympics
|
|
| New Canadian Record |
Old Canadian Record
|
|
| 50m | 24.61 | 24.69 |
| 100m | 26.74 | 27.30 |
| 150m | 27.34 | 27.11 |
| 200m | 27.70 | 27.30 |
| Total Time | 1:46.39 | 1:46.40 |
Sauve, interestingly, went out faster than Hayden, the noted sprinter, in his new record-setting effort. He also went out way faster in finals (51.35) than both his prelims swim (53.78) and previous lifetime best (52.88).
His best time coming into the meet was 1:48.21 from April, and in heats he swam 1:50.59 to miss the “A” final after a miscalculation. Lorne Wigginton‘s 1:50.29 was 8th in the heats.
The time ranks Sauve outside of the world’s top 25 this season; it would have been enough to make the semifinals at the Olympics, but the world has turned up the heat in the men’s 200 free in 2025.
Sauve trains with CAMO in Montreal.
Ethan Ekk won the A Final in 1:48.53, followed by a tie between Jordi Vilchez and Filip Senc-Samardzic in 2nd in 1:48.83.
Sauve is already on the team for the men’s 400 free relay after finishing 2nd in 48.42, though that leaves him outside of the “A” standard for an individual swim unless winner Ruslan Gaziev scratches.
Canadian coaches do have some discretion to add him into the 200 free individually, given that no other swimmer hit either the “A” standard of 1:46.70 nor the Swimming Canada Secondary Standard of 1:47.77.
Top 10 Performers, Men’s 200 LCM Free, Canada
- Antoine Sauve, CAMO, 2025 – 1:46.39
- Brent Hayden, UBC Dolphins, 2008 – 1:46.40
- Colin Russell, Toronto All Stars, 2008 – 1:46.58
- Rick Say, University of Calgary Swim Club, 2004 – 1:47.16
- (TIE)
- Brian Johns, UBC Dolphin Swim Club, 2008 – 1:47.44
- Ruslan Gaziev, Etobicoke Swim Club, 2022 – 1:47.44
- Jeremy Bagshaw, Island Swimming Club, 2015 – 1:47.48
- Markus Thormeyer, UBC Thunderbird Swim Club, 2019 – 1:47.60
- Javier Acevedo, Ajax Aquatic Club, 2023 – 1:47.72
- Patrick Hussey, Pointe-Claire Swim Club, 2024 – 1:47.78
Should be a no-brainer to let him swim individually the 200. Since no one else qualified he is not bumping anyone out of their spot. Let him build international experience before 2028.
What a huge swim. Shows how much potential he’s got if he goes out fast and gives himself a shot.I hope this gives him new confidence.
I find this extraordinary.
How did he miss qualifying for final?
Just misjudged how easy he could go this morning. Canada isn’t fast in this event but there’s a LOT of guys all around the same time.
It was 0.99 seconds between 1st and 9th this morning.
So he was basically got too cocky.
Lesson learned I guess.
That’s an odd interpretation of “misjudged finals”…. This is how our sport is. He’s not a cocky kid.
That could be an uncharitable interpretation, I guess. You could also say that he’s still young and learning and made a mistake.
You must be new to swimming. Or competitive sports
It’s too harsh to say it’s cocky. I mean it’s just hard to tell what’s gonna final sometimes. Happened to Phelps in the 400 free in 2005. He looked in shape to be like a 3:42 or 3:43 that meet, but he misjudged the prelim, went like 3:51, and missed the final. And then he never swam it again, which is a shame because I feel pretty sure by 2007 or 2008 he’d have been a 3:39 or 3:38.
It happens to the very best, and every elite swimmer takes a risk when letting up on the effort prelims, no matter who it is.
No way was Phelps going sub 3:40.
The man who was 1:42.9 in the 200 and 4:03 in the 400 IM?
3:42 or 3:43 is not sub 3:40 FYI
I agree the estimation is a little rich but Phelps in his heyday was definitely 3:4low if the stars aligned (they never did)
? He said “I feel pretty sure by 2007 or 2008 he’d have been a 3:39 or 3:38.”
Great job. Hopefully, he gets to swim it individually.
He should right? Idk why he wouldn’t its not like anyone else hit the QT
CANADIAN CASAS
MISSED THE EH FINAL