2024 Canadian Olympic & Paralympic Trials: Day 7 Finals Live Recap

2024 CANADIAN OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC TRIALS

Day 7 Finals Heat Sheet

The 2024 Canadian Olympic & Paralympic Trials come to a close on Sunday night in Toronto with finals of the Para 50 freestyle, women’s 50 free, men’s 100 butterfly, women’s 200 IM, Para 200 free, and men’s 1500 free.

Two-time Olympian Taylor Ruck is aiming to clinch her spot in the women’s 50 free after leading prelims in 25.14. The Stanford product boasts an entry time of 24.50 that is exactly two tenths faster than the Olympic ‘A’ cut in the event.

Josh Liendo continued his red-hot week by sneaking under his own Canadian record in the 100 fly during prelims with his top-seeded time of 50.33. Rising star Ilya Kharun also dipped under the Olympic ‘A’ cut (51.67) with his runner-up finish this morning ahead of Finlay Knox (52.62).

We might see a fun battle in the women’s 200 IM between top qualifier Mary-Sophie Harvey (2:11.32) and Canadian record holder Summer McIntosh (2:11.61). Or we could even witness McIntosh find a new gear and challenge Katinka Hosszu‘s world record of 2:06.12 as her lifetime best of 2:06.89 is within a second of the global standard. McIntosh already broke her own 400 IM world record on Thursday night with an otherworldly time of 4:24.38.

Men’s 800 free champion Timothe Barbeau owns the top entry time in the 1500 free at 15:23.50. He’ll need to shed a ton of time tonight in order get under the Olympic ‘A’ cut of 15:00.99.

Stay tuned for live updates below:

WOMEN’S 50 FREE PARA — FINAL

  • Canadian S6: 33.36 – Shelby Newkirk (2023)
  • Canadian S7: 33.50 – Danielle Dorris (2024)
  • Canadian S8: 31.29 – Morgan Bird (2016)
  • Canadian S9: 29.86 – Mary Jibb (2024)
  • Canadian S10: 27.37 – Aurelie Rivard (2016)
  • Canadian S13: Valerie Grand’Maison (2008)

Top 10:

  1. Aurelie Rivard, S10 (CNQ) – 27.99 (968 points)
  2. Danielle Dorris, S7 (CNBO) – 33.40 (949 points) *Canadian S7 record
  3. Shelby Newkirk, S6 (LASER) – 33.87 (938 points)
  4. Mary Jibb, S9 (MUSAC) – 29.52 (933 points) *Canadian S9 record
  5. Arianna Hunsicker, S10 (UL/CHPQUE) – 28.70 (896 points)
  6. Maxine Lavitt, S13 (UMAN) – 28.31 (880 points)
  7. Jaime Cosgriffe, S10 (OAK) – 29.51 (831 points)
  8. Katarina Roxon, S9 (AASC) – 31.67 (775 points)
  9. Abi Tripp, S8 (CNQ) – 33.38 (770 points)
  10. Ruby Stevens, S6 (RCAQ) – 42.54 (532 points)

Two Canadian records went down in the first final of the night as Danielle Dorris took a tenth off her own S7 record in the 50 free with a 33.40 while Mary Jibb toppled her own S9 national standard from earlier this year.

However, it was Aurelie Rivard who came away with the most Para points with her 27.99 in the S10 category. The 27-year-old has been as fast as 27.37 back in 2016, when she claimed Paralympic gold in Rio. Rivard collected a bronze medal in this event a few years ago in Tokyo.

MEN’S 50 FREE PARA — FINAL

  • Canadian S4: 38.48 – Sebastian Massabie (2024)
  • Canadian S7: 30.14 – Jean-Michael Lavealliere (2018)
  • Canadian S8: 27.63 – Feliz Cowan (2022)
  • Canadian S10: 23.58 – Nathan Stein (2012)
  • Canadian S13: 23.88 – Nicolas-Guy Turbide (2023)

Top 5:

  1. Sebastian Massabie, S4 (PSW) – 38.08 (965 points) *Canadian S4 record
  2. Nicolas Turbide, S13 (CNQ) – 24.46 (893 points)
  3. Reid Maxwell, S8 (EKSC) – 28.26 (868 points)
  4. Fernando Lu, S10 (LOSC) – 25.05 (839 points)
  5. Charle Giammichele, S7 (GHAC) – 31.48 (723 points)

Sebastian Massabie broke his own S4 Canadian record in the 50 free en route to the victory in 38.48. He narrowly missed his standard during prelims this morning at 38.52.

WOMEN’S 50 FREE — FINAL

  • World Record: 23.61 – Sarah Sjostrom, SWE (2023)
  • Canadian Record: 24.26 – Taylor Ruck (2018)
  • 2021 Champion: Kayla Sanchez – 24.68
  • OLY Qualifying/Consideration Standards: 24.70/24.82

Top 10:

  1. Penny Oleksiak (TSC) – 25.06
  2. Taylor Ruck (UNCAN) – 25.08
  3. Ainsley McMurray (CSLA) – 25.43
  4. Sarah Fournier (CNQ) – 25.46
  5. Hannah Cornish (USC/UMN) – 25.53
  6. Sienna Angove (UNCAN) – 25.54
  7. Leilani Fack (LOSC) – 25.55
  8. Mia West (MANTA) – 25.90
  9. Dylan Scholes (MAC) – 25.91
  10. Matea Gigovic (KSC) – 25.99

Canada’s most decorated Olympian, Penny Oleksiak, crushed her lifetime best in the 50 free by more than three tenths to clinch the victory over Taylor Ruck (25.08) with a winning time of 25.06. The 23-year-old Oleksiak entry time was just 26.22, but she had been as fast as 25.38 back in 2018.

Neither Oleksiak nor Ruck automatically qualified via Priority One for the individual 50 free event with their top-2 finishes since the Olympic ‘A’ cut sits at 24.70. However, Ruck hit the qualifying standard with a season-best 24.50 at the 2024 World Championships in February, so she will earn a Priority Three nod here thanks to her top-2 showing.

MEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY– FINAL

  • World Record: 49.45 – Caeleb Dressel, USA (2021)
  • Canadian Record: 50.33 – Josh Liendo (2024)
  • 2021 Champion: Josh Liendo – 51.72
  • OLY Qualifying/Consideration Standards: 51.67/51.93

Top 10:

  1. Josh Liendo (NYAC) – 50.06 *OQT, Canadian record
  2. Ilya Kharun (UNCAN) – 51.09 *OQT
  3. Finlay Knox (SCAR) – 51.42 *OQT
  4. Patrick Hussey (PCSC) – 52.95
  5. Filip Senc-Samardzic (TSC) – 53.01
  6. Eric Ginzburg (RAMAC) – 53.29
  7. Raben Dommann (HPCVN) – 53.49
  8. Hayden Ghufran (UNCAN) – 53.63
  9. Bill Dongfang (ISC) – 53.78
  10. Thomas Mcdonald (UCSC) – 54.24

Josh Liendo lowered his own Canadian record from prelims with a world-leading mark of 50.06, dropping almost three tenths off his previous-best 50.33 from this morning. Before today, the standard stood at 50.34 from last year.

Liendo moved up from No. 8 to No. 5 in the all-time rankings with his new lifetime best. Only four men have ever broken the 50-second barrier: Caeleb Dressel (49.45), Kristof Milak (49.68), Michael Phelps (49.82), and Milorad Cavic (49.95). Liendo, a 21-year-old NCAA champion at the University of Florida, will also contest the 50 free and 100 free in Paris this summer.

2023-2024 LCM Men 100 Fly

JoshCAN
Liendo
05/19
50.06
2 Noe
PONTI
SUI50.1604/06
3Matthew William
Temple
AUS50.2512/03
4Maxime
GROUSSET
FRA50.5906/21
5Kristof
MILAK
HUN50.7506/02
View Top 32»

Ilya Kharun also qualified for the Olympics in the 100 fly with his runner-up finish in 51.09, sneaking under his previous-best 51.22 from last summer.

Finlay Knox hit the Olympic ‘A’ cut with a personal-best 51.42, but he won’t contest this event individually in Paris by virtue of his 3rd-place finish.

WOMEN’S 200 IM — FINAL

Top 10:

  1. Summer McIntosh (UNCAN) – 2:07.06 *OQT
  2. Sydney Pickrem (TSC) – 2:07.68 *OQT
  3. Mary-Sophie Harvey (CAMO) – 2:09.57 *OQT
  4. Ashley McMillan (GO/HPCON) – 2:11.00 *OQT
  5. Ella Jansen (HPCON) – 2:13.53
  6. Danielle Hanus (RAPID/HPCVN) – 2:13.61
  7. Bailey Andison (CAMO) – 2:14.32
  8. Sienna Angove (UNCAN) – 2:14.94
  9. Tessa Cieplucha (MAC) – 2:15.00
  10. Julie Brousseau (NKB) – 2:17.10

Sydney Pickrem stunned the crowd by taking the lead with a blistering 36.29 breaststroke leg, but Summer McIntosh rallied on the final freestyle leg to pull off a comeback victory in 2:07.06. The 17-year-old McIntosh narrowly missed her Canadian record of 2:06.89 from last year.

Pickrem qualified for her third Olympics with a new lifetime best of 2:07.68. She dropped almost a full second off her previous-best 2:08.56 from February’s World Championships in Doha, Qatar, where she won a silver medal.

“The 200 IM has always been my baby,” Pickrem said. “I’ve been on the team for a decade, which is a long time.

“I don’t even know if you’ve been swimming a decade,” Pickrem joked at McIntosh. “I had a lot of people doubting my ability for this one so I’m excited for it.”

Canada flexed its depth in this event with four women under the Olympic ‘A’ cut. Unfortunately for Mary-Sophie Harvey (2:09.57) and Ashley McMillan (2:11.00), they won’t contest this event individually in Paris because they finished outside the top 2. Harvey sliced almost a tenth off her previous-best 2:09.65 from last year’s World Championships while McMillan dropped almost half a second off her previous-best 2:11.44 from last year.

WOMEN’S 200 FREE PARA – FINAL

  • Canadian S5: 3:21.18 – Marie Dannhaeuser (2000)
  • Canadian S14: 2:15.16 – Angela Marina (2019)

Top 7:

  1. Angela Marina, S14 (BRANT) – 2:16.49 (786 points)
  2. Emma Van Dyk, S14 (BROCK) – 2:22.37 (701 points)
  3. Alisson Gobeil, S5 (CNJA) – 3:33.70 (545 points)
  4. Jessica Tinney, S5 (AJAX) – 3:35.50 (534 points)
  5. Ella Tucker, S5 (MTA) – 3:52.55 (444 points)

Angela Marina brought home the victory in 2:16.49, only about a second off her own S14 record of 2:15.16 from 2019.

Alisson Gobeil (3:33.70) held off a late charge from Jessica Tinney (3:35.50) in the S5 showdown. The full Canadian Paralympic squad will be announced after tonight’s session after comparing this week’s times against world rankings.

MEN’S 200 FREE PARA – FINAL

Top 2:

  1. Nicholan Bennett, S14 (RDCSC) – 1:54.78 (983 points)
  2. Sebastian Massabie, S4 (PSW) – 3:07.00 (836 points)

Sebastian Massabie continued his record-breaking run this week by taking down his own S4 standard in the 200 free from prelims. He reached the wall in 3:07.00, dropping almost a second off his previous-best 3:07.80 from this morning.

Before today, Massabie owned the national standard at 3:13.87 from earlier this year, meaning he dropped more than six seconds over the course of just one day. He accumulated the most Para power points in the 50 free (965) to kick off the session.

S14 standout Nicholas Bennett won the Para power point battle against Massabie in the 200 free with his winning mark of 1:54.78, missing his Canadian S14 record by just about half a second.

MEN’S 1500 FREE — FINAL

  • World Record: 14:31.02 — Sun Yang (2012)
  • Canadian Record: 14:39.63 — Ryan Cochrane (2012)
  • 2021 Champion: Eric Brown – 15:19.69
  • OLY Qualifying/Consideration Standards: 15:00.99/15:05.49

Top 10:

  1. Eric Brown (PCSC) – 15:23.87
  2. Timothe Barbeau (NN) – 15:26.58
  3. Olivier Risk (UBCT/ROCS) – 15:28.53
  4. Sebastian Paulins (BRANT) – 15:29.03
  5. Simon Fonseca (CAMO) – 15:34.66
  6. Kieran Watson (UNCAN) – 15:43.78
  7. Max Vorobiev (MAC) – 15:55.84
  8. William Debroux (BTSC) – 15:58.38
  9. Nathan Versluys (UCSC) – 16:03.45
  10. Edouard Duffey (CAMO) – 16:06.26

Eric Brown defended his national title in the 1500 free with a winning time of 15:23.87, a few seconds quicker than he was last year. However, he was a few seconds slower than his winning time from the last Olympic Trials in 2021.

After being passed by Timothe Barbeau in the 800 free earlier this week, Brown returned the favor right before the 1150-meter mark of the showdown. Barbeau earned the runner-up finish in 15:26.58, a few seconds slower than his lifetime best at the end of a long week.

Olivier Risk (15:28.53) and Sebastian Paulins (15:29.03) both broke 15:30 on their way to top-4 finishes. No swimmer was particularly close to the Olympic ‘A’ cut of 15:00.99 as distance freestyle remains a relative weak point of Canadian swimming at the moment.

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M d e
1 month ago

Monster swim for Pickrem. Very nice.

swim observer
Reply to  M d e
1 month ago

Pickrem captured #10 spot in all time women’s 200IM performers, wondering when will SwimmingStats by SwimSwam make a post about it?

CanuckSwimFan
Reply to  M d e
1 month ago

Yes kudos to Pickrem. Although MSH did cut .1 from her pb I thought she might have gotten under 2:09 in this race given the time she had sliced off her other events this week.

han qihao
1 month ago

In my opinion, the probability of winning a gold medal in the summer is from high to low: 400 m medley > 200 m butterfly > 200 m medley > 400 m freestyle > 200 m freestyle

Facts
Reply to  han qihao
1 month ago

Yeah 400 IM she’s a lock, 200 fly she’s a slight favorite over Regan, 200 IM is a pick-em, 400 free she’s a slight underdog to Titmus, and 200 free she’s an underdog to MOC and Titmus

ScovaNotiaSwimmer
1 month ago

That nickname is offensive.

flicker
1 month ago

kind of losing my mind right now because what do you mean a 25.0 is a PB for Penny?? I’ve just always assumed her PB had to be somewhere around a 24.5-24.8 (really nice to see her have a PB though)

Admin
Reply to  flicker
1 month ago

Yeah, surprised she’s never been under 25, let alone not better than 25.38. Probably aren’t many women who have been 52.5 in the 100 and not 24-anything in the 50.

I mean heck, she opened the 52.5 in 25.42, which is only .04 seconds slower than her previous best 50.

Troyy
Reply to  Braden Keith
1 month ago

Have to think in peak shape and tapered she’s capable of well inside the 24 zone but doesn’t usually swim it.

Last edited 1 month ago by Troyy
Nono
1 month ago

Relay line-up is very interesting

For 4×100 Medley, Josh will most likely do the fly leg so the lineup looks like
Tierney
Knox
Liendo
Kisil

while 4×100 free is
Acevedo
Knox
Liendo
Kisil

Tierney is just marginally ahead of Acevedo in 100 back so if Acevedo performs better in Paris, we could see the same lineup in free and medley relays. Very Sweden like (women)

phelpsfan
Reply to  Nono
1 month ago

I’m afraid Kharun will do fly and Liendo will do free

chickenlamp
Reply to  phelpsfan
1 month ago

right now the difference between Kharun and Liendo in fly is bigger than the difference between Kisil and Liendo in free. But the medley relay is on the last day, so this could change

Swumswims
Reply to  phelpsfan
1 month ago

Hess is on the team, presumably he replaces Knox for br?

CanSwimFan
Reply to  Swumswims
1 month ago

I assume Hess will swim prelims.

NUSwimFan
Reply to  phelpsfan
1 month ago

All comes down to performance in individual events in Paris. Medley relay is last so they’ll have all the data they need to select the best possible team

phelpsfan
Reply to  NUSwimFan
1 month ago

Hess doesn’t have an individual event tho

Cookedlays
Reply to  phelpsfan
1 month ago

Why so? Liendo is 1s ahead of kharun in the fly. Freestyle split-wise, any of the guys (esp. Kisil and Acevedo) could pull out a decent 47.xx.

Jesh
Reply to  Nono
1 month ago

I think the Free has to be led off by Liendo. I know it’s nice to have the fastest in reserve for the end, but we’ll need somebody to put Canada into the race + both Kisil and Acevedo have relay splits 1 second faster than PBs, they just don’t have the opening 50 speed to run with the field. if Knox can flat start a 47 when the time comes, then I think he’s the best option to lead out, if not I think Liendo has to put us up and try to hold on as long as possible

ScovaNotiaSwimmer
1 month ago

Discretionary adds:

Apollo Hess (coolest name) for breaststroke relay duties

Rebecca Smith: freestyle relays duties

Tracy Kosinski
Reply to  ScovaNotiaSwimmer
1 month ago

Yeah, looks like everyone was named lol.

NUSwimFan
Reply to  Tracy Kosinski
1 month ago

Missing Lepage/Breton that had an A cut but everyone else seems to have been selected

phelpsfan
Reply to  NUSwimFan
1 month ago

And Savard

ScovaNotiaSwimmer
Reply to  NUSwimFan
1 month ago

Yeah, I guess they felt that Sydney and Kelsey could sub in for the medley relay if needed.

phelpsfan
Reply to  ScovaNotiaSwimmer
1 month ago

But it’s not only about the medley relay, it’s about giving one of those athletes the Olympic experience.

maverick1993
Reply to  phelpsfan
1 month ago

No, its not a charity event.

"we've got a boilover!"
Reply to  phelpsfan
1 month ago

2+ Olympiads ago when there was no “Relay swimmer must swim” rule, yes there was the option for a couple of these kind of insurance pics for that reason, either Emerg relay duty if needed, or best performing (often a head to head staging camp time trial). Now with that rule you just cannot pic extras to solely give an experience as a slower prelim performance can cost finals and medal chances. Looking at the selections most appear to be carefully cognisant of that scenario, especially with a few Ind event qualifiers being available for Relay duty that perhaps swam heated only, or Maggie/Summer for the 4*1.

One interesting variance from that is the 4*2 men’s. The 4 who swam… Read more »

North Sea
Reply to  ScovaNotiaSwimmer
1 month ago

Maybe for mixed medley relay

CanSwimFan
Reply to  ScovaNotiaSwimmer
1 month ago

Rebecca could also swim fly in medley relay prelims, depending on MSH’s schedule.

Tracy Kosinski
1 month ago

Brent in a Canadian shirt. Looks good on him.

chickenlamp
1 month ago

You can sense the joy and relief during this team presentation. And the red jacket presentation is the white coat ceremony for Canadian Olympians.

About Riley Overend

Riley is an associate editor interested in the stories taking place outside of the pool just as much as the drama between the lane lines. A 2019 graduate of Boston College, he arrived at SwimSwam in April of 2022 after three years as a sports reporter and sports editor at newspapers …

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