2024 Canadian Olympic & Paralympic Trials: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap

2024 CANADIAN OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC TRIALS

• May 13-19, 2024
• Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre – Toronto, Ontario
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• How To Watch
• Swimming Canada Olympic Selection Criteria
• Psych Sheets (Updated 05/10)
• Live Results
• Prelims – Day 1 Recap | Day 2 Recap
• Finals – Day 1 Recap | Day 2 Recap

Day 3 Prelims Heat Sheet
Steam courtesy of CBC

Day 3 Schedule

• Men’s Para 400 Free
• Women’s Para 400 Free
• Men’s Open 200 Free
• Women’s Open 100 Back
• Women’s Para 150 IM
• Men’s Para 150 IM
• Women’s Open 1500 (early heats)

Good Morning! Well, Good Morning to those on the Eastern seaboard. An earlier good morning to those out West and to the rest of the World, Good Sometime. The third morning of the 2024 Canadian Olympic and Paralympics Trials is about to get underway.

We start the morning off with the prelims of the Women’s and Men’s 400 Para Free. There are just two competitors in the women’s field and three in the men’s, but amongst the five are three Canadian national record holders. In the men’s event Reid Maxwell will be chasing his S8 record of 4:33.15 that he set just last month.

The open events start with the Men’s 200 free. In comparison to the women’s event, the men’s 200 has no swimmer under the OQT of 1:46.26. Top seed Javier Acevedo, who qualified to swim in Paris last night by way of his 100-back runner-up finish, is entered with a seed time of 1:47.72. 100 breast winner Finlay Knox has also thrown his hat into the ring as the #2 seed entering with a time of 1:48.17. The event also serves as the debut of Canadian sprinting star Josh Liendo.

Liendo, who is coming off an impressive NCAA meet, is the #9 seed and has an entry time of 1:49.88. While the individual time to qualify may be far off, competition for one of the relay spots will be intense as this may be the best or last chance for several swimmers to make the team, including Jeremy Bagshaw and Lorne Wigginton.

We already covered the withdrawal of Summer McIntosh in the women’s 100 back, and you can read more about that here, but the 100 back is still loaded with star power. Former WR holder and Tokyo silver medalist Kylie Masse leads the charge. Entered with a time of 58.74, Masse has already swum this meet, placing 5th in the prelims of the 100 fly (58.91), so should have loosened the cobwebs. Her biggest competition comes from Ingrid Wilm. Wilm, a recent three-time bronze medalist at the 2024 Doha Worlds, is also entered with a time under the OQT; her 58.80 easily clears the 59.99.

If any swimmer were to try to upset the top two, it would be Taylor Ruck. Ruck, who placed 9th in the event in Tokyo, is entered with a time of 1:00.30 but has been as fast as 58.55 and scratched the 200 free yesterday to concentrate on other events.

The last Open event of the morning is the men’s 200 breaststroke. Brayden Taivassalo holds down the top seed with an entry time of 2:11.28, over three seconds clear of Justice Migneault‘s 2:14.78. Taivassalo, who won the yards version for Texas at the Big XII Conference Championships, will have a tough task ahead of him to qualify for Paris, as the OQT is over a second and a half away, and he did not drop any time from his entry in the 100, but he is more of a 200 swimmer so maybe still have an inspired swim in him.

Much like in the Para 400 free, the men’s 150 IM is a small field consisting of just one swimmer, Sebastian Massabie. However, that doesn’t mean it won’t be an exciting race, as he will be chasing his own national record that was set just two months ago.

Women’s 400 Para Free – Prelims

• Canadian S7 Record: 5:20.59 – Sabrina Duchesne (2021)
• Canadian S10 Record: 4:24.08 – Aurelie Rivard (2021)

Top 2

1. Aurelie Rivard S10 (CNQ) – 4:38.42 (920 pts)
2. Sabrina Duchesene S7 (UL) – 5:30.24 (848 pts)

The S10 National Record holder Aurelie Rivard hit the wall in 4:38.42, a little off her best, but with little incentive to push this morning, it was a good opening swim. Sabrina Duchesne, her only competitor in the field, was 5:30.24, also off of her personal best. Of the two points wise, Rivard scored more, accumulating 920 points as compared to Duchesene’s 848. As a reminder, swimmers in para events will be named to the team at the end of the week based on their para points score, with a maximum of 15 women and 7 men.

Men’s 400 Para Free – Prelims

• Canadian S8 Record: 4:33.15 – Reid Maxwell (2024)

Top 3

1. Reid Maxwell S8 (EKSC) – 4:34.62 (948 pts)
2. Philippe Vachon S8 (MEGO) – 4:42.10 (884 pts)
3. Zach Zona S8 (NHAC/CHPQUE) – 4:44.88 (862 pts)

Reid Maxwell was on his own national record pace for much of the race, hitting the wall just one and a half seconds shy in 4:34.62. If Maxwell can keep the number of splits above 35 (2) to a minimum then he could tonight be in danger of breaking it. Both Philippe Vachon and Zach Zona were a little slower than their entry times, but again, like the women’s event, they may not have been going at full steam.

MEN’S 200 Free– Prelims

• World Record: 1:42.00 – Paul Biedermann, GER (2009)
• Canadian Record: 1:46.40 – Brent Hayden (2008)
• 2021 Champion: Peter Brothers – 1:49.07
• OLY Qualifying/Consideration Standards: 1:46.26/1:46.79

Top 10

1. Patrick Hussey (PCSC) – 1:47.81
2. Joshua Liendo (NYAC) – 1:47.83
3. Finlay Knox (SCAR/HPCVN) – 1:48.26
4. Alexander Axon (MAC) – 1:48.44
5. Lorne Wigginton (HPCON)- 1:48.49
6. Jeremy Bagshaw (ISC) – 1:48.75
7. Ethan Ekk (UNCAN) – 1:49.15
8. Filip Senc-Samardzic (TSC) – 1:49.18
9. Tristan Jankovics (RCAQ) – 1:49.53
10. Antonie Sauve (CAMO) – 1:49.61

Through the halfway point, the early leader was Max Vorobiev, who hit the wall in a new personal best of 1:52.36, dropping over a second from his seed time of 1:53.50. He wasn’t alone in personal best as Sebastien Voicu and Simon Fonseca also hit personal best from heat 3 with times of 1:53.19 and 1:53.24.

Heat 4, the first of the circle-seeded heats, saw a duel as Patrick Hussey and Josh Liendo pushed each other to new highs. Liendo was out fast, flipping at the 100 in 51.97, but Hussey was close behind in 52.06. The pair swapped the lead at the 150, with Hussey leading by .36. Liendo closed the gap but was just short, being out-touched by .02, 1:47.83 to 1:47.81. The pair were both much faster than their seed times, with Liendo hitting a new PB of over two seconds.

The penultimate heat was a slower affair but by no means not exciting. It was a tight three-way finish as 100 breast winner Finlay Knox touched first in 1:48.26. Knox tightened up a little in the 3rd 50, leading Alexander Axon by just .02, but pulled away in the closing meters to take the win by .18. Veteran swimmer Jeremy Bagshaw finished 3rd in the heat in a time of 1:48.75.

The last heat saw Lorne Wigginton do his best to enter the conversation of a relay berth. Wigginton, who finished 2nd in the 400 IM last night, was out in 52.80 and finished with a time of 1:48.49, faster than his seed time by about three-tenths. The winner of the 400 IM, Tristian Jankovics, was a little behind, hitting the wall in a time of 1:49.53, but still fast enough to qualify for the A-Final. The winner and runner-up in the last night’s 100 back struggled in this last heat. Javier Acevedo, the top seed, finished in a time of 1:49.69 and Blake Tierney in 1:50.81; both will miss out on the A-final.

Women’s 100 Backstroke– Prelims

• World Record: 57.33 – Kaylee McKeown, AUS (2023)
• Canadian Record: 57.57 – Kylie Masse (2019)
• 2021 Champion: Kylie Masse – 57.70
• OLY Qualifying/Consideration Standards: 59.99/1:00.29

Top 10

1. Kylie Masse (TSC) – 58.27
2. Ingrid Wilm (CSC) – 1:00.52
3. Regan Rathwell (GO) – 1:00.85
4. Delia Lloyd (ESWIM/HPCON) – 1:00.86
5. Madison Kryger (BROCK/HPCON) – 1:01.17
6. Taylor Ruck (UNCAN) – 1:01.30
7. Ashley McMillan (GO/HPCON) – 1:01.40
8. Daniell Hanus (RAPID/HPCON) – 1:01.45
9. Madelyn Gatrall (WAC) – 1:01.53
10. Reina Liu (UNCAN) – 1:02.21

Madison Kryger, born eight years after Taylor Ruck out, dueled the veteran in the first of the circle-seeded heat in the women’s 100 back. Kryger was third at the 50 turns (29.78) but used a strong back half to take the top spot so far in a time of 1:01.17. Ruck led at the 50 with a split of 29.26 and finished behind Kryger in a time of 1:01.30, exactly a second off her seed.

Ingrid Wilm did enough to surpass Kryger, hitting the wall in a smooth and controlled time of 1:00.52. Wilm made it look easy, never really using her kick and just relying upon a strong turnover.

If Wilm looked smooth, Kylie Masse‘s swim could be described as power. Masse went at it from the start, taking out the first 50 in 28.17 (for reference, Wilm was 29.92) and never let up, hitting the wall in 58.27, easily surpassing Wilm’s time and taking the top seed by over a full two seconds. The swim was certainly a warning shot to both her domestic and international competition as it was nearly a second faster than her 4th place finish at the 2023 Worlds (59.09) and represented her fastest swim since her silver medal-winning performance at the 2021 Tokyo Games.

Her prelims time jumps her up in the World Rankings from 6th to 4th.

MEN’S 200 Breaststroke– Prelims

• World Record: 2:05.48 – Qin Haiyang, CHN (2023)
• Canadian Record: 2:08.84 – Mike Brown (2008)
• 2021 Champion: Eli Wall – 2:12.16
• OLY Qualifying/Consideration Standards: 2:09.68/2:10.33

Top 10

1. Oliver Dawson (GPP) – 2:14.20
2. Justice Migneault (HPCVN) – 2:14.86
3. Brayden Taivassalo (MAC) – 2:17.83
4. Kiet Kong (MAC) – 2:17.97
5. Sinan Onur (PCSC) – 2:18.07
6. Tanner Cole/ Justin Jung (OSC/LOSC) – 2:18.14
8. Nathan Thomas (ESWIM) – 2:18.35
9. Gabe Mastromatteo (KSS) – 2:19.38
10. Jacob Gallant (FAST) – 2:19.49

Leading through the first 4 heats was Hsiao Yung Wen from CASC. His time of 2:24.42 is nearly a full second drop from his seed time of 2:25.26. Hsiao’s time atop the board lasted just one heat as ROCS’s swimmer Logan Milne posted a time of 2:23.05. The performance was just .01 off his entry time.

A man with a need for speed, Apollo Hess, the Canadian record holder in the SCM 50 breast, attacked the first of three circle-seeded heats. Hess, who finished runner-up in the 100 by just .33, surged in the first 100, hitting the wall in 1:04.50, leading by nearly three seconds. With such a lead, Hess started to cool things down, cruising into the wall in a time of 2:17.49. Hess has an entry time of 2:15.83, so should have more in the tank for tonight.

While Hess was alone in his heat, the penultimate heat was a two-horse race. Justice Migneault was the early leader, taking it out even faster than Hess in a time of 1:04.38 and had a lead of over a second on Oliver Dawson, who split a 1:05.52. Dawson, who placed 5th in the 100 breast final and nearly broke the Age Group record, surged over the back to take the win in 2:14.20. With the heat win, Dawson broke Gabe Mastromatteo‘s Age group record of 2:14.30 set back in 2019.

Big XII 200 breast winner and top seed Brayden Taivassalo took the win in the last heat with a time of  2:17.83. The Texas Longhorn was pushed throughout the race by fellow MAC swimmer Kiet Kong, who finished just .14 behind. Taivassalo led by over a second at the 100 and at the 150 and appears to shut it down over the last 50 to conserve energy for tonight’s attempt to win the event and qualify for Paris.

When the final results came through, Apollo Hess, the winner of heat 6, was disqualified. We will update the story as we learn more.

Men’s 150 IM Para – Prelims

• Canadian SM4 Record: 3:04.27 – Sebastian Massabie (2024)

Top 1

1. Sebastien Massabie S4 – 3:00.34 *** NEW CANADIAN RECORD***

Swimming alone is never an easy endeavor, but Sebastian Massabie made it look easy as he crushed his personal best and Canadian National record of 3:04.27, hitting the wall in 3:00.34. The SM4. Massabie has already rewritten the record books this week. Swimming in the S5 50 fly, the S4 athlete posted a time of 38.68, breaking his own World Record of 39.51 by nearly a full second.