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
- Prelims Live Recaps: Day 1
After a muted prelims session with few of the big names showing their cards in the heats, Canada’s biggest stars will take to the pool on Saturday night chasing spots at the World Championships and World Junior Championships later this year.
The first night will launch with a bang, with Summer McIntosh, Mary-Sophie Harvey, and Kylie Masse all pursuing their initial qualifications for the Singapore team. McIntosh cruised to a 4:10 in the 400 free in prelims, well off her Canadian Record of 3:56.08; Masse was the fastest in heats of the 100 back in 59.23; and Harvey chose against the head-to-head with McIntosh in the 400 free and instead swam to a 2:25.70 in the prelims of the 200 breaststroke.
On the men’s side, all eyes will be on the clock as a young wave of Canadians chase World Aquatics “A” standards. Oliver Dawson in the 200 breaststroke (2:13.97 in prelims, best of 2:12.42) and Blake Tierney in the 100 backstroke (54.02 in prelims) are among the best hopes. The Canadian men’s side has been unable to keep up with the women in recent years, and are looking for some breakthroughs to rebuild their ranks toward the Los Angeles Olympics.
Watch Below:
Women’s 200 Breaststroke – Finals
- World Record: 2:17.55 — Evgeniia Chikunova, Russia (2023)
- Canadian Record: 2:20.12 – Annamay Pierse (2009)
- World Aquatics ‘A’ Standard: 2:25.91
- Canadian World Juniors Standard: 2:30.08
Podium:
GOLD – Mary-Sophie Harvey (CAMO) – 2:23.40
SILVER – Sophie Angus (HPCON) – 2:24.84
BRONZE – Alexanne Lepage (UCSC) – 2:25.91
Mary-Sophie Harvey, coached by Greg Arkhurst, won the women’s 200 breaststroke in 2:23.40, continuing her evolution in the event. She came into the meet off a 2:24.44 personal best from the Giant Open in France last month, and took another big step forward in tonight’s final.
While relatively new to this event, Harvey has shown rapid progression over the past year. Prior to April’s Canadian Open, the 25-year-old hadn’t matched her 2:25.37 best from 2017, but dropped it to 2:25.14 at that meet before going even faster in France, setting the stage for tonight’s breakthrough.
Harvey reflected on her performance: “Yeah, I mean, I’ve been swimming a bit more breaststroke this year, so I know I’m not fully prepared for this meet. So it’s pretty good for now, and I’m excited for the rest of the meet.”
Asked what she’ll focus on moving forward, she said: “I think I’m just gonna keep doing what I’m doing because it’s been working well for the past three years, and I’m excited about what it’s gonna be in Singapore.”
Harvey has firmly established herself as a major international medal contender in 2024 after previously being more of a fringe finalist. A two-time Olympian, she finished 4th in the 200 free at Paris 2024 and is regarded as one of Canada’s most versatile swimmers, alongside Summer McIntosh.
Last year marked a resurgence for Harvey, who placed 4th individually in the 200 free in Paris and helped Canada to 4th in the 4×200 free relay. She ranked 9th in the world in the 200 free for the year and held top-35 rankings in the 400 IM (13th), 200 IM (14th), 100 fly (19th), 100 free (31st), and 400 free (33rd).
At the 2024 Short Course World Championships, Harvey collected five medals, including silver in the 200 free and bronze in the 400 free, and notched three 4th-place finishes across the IMs (100, 200, and 400). Riding that momentum, she’ll be one to watch not just in the breaststroke, but in several events this week.
Sophie Angus took 2nd tonight in 2:24.84, dropping over two and a half seconds from her former lifetime best of 2:27.03. The 26-year-old, who touched 18th in the 100 breast at the Paris Olympics, also undercut the qualifying standard of 2:25.91 for Worlds.
Rounding out the top 3 was 19-year-old Alexanne Lepage, who clocked 2:25.91. The 2023 World Junior champion in both the 100 and 200 breast, Lepage has been as fast as 2:24.70 in her career and remains one of Canada’s top young talents in the stroke. Even though she made the grade for Worlds in terms of the qualification time, only two people per country are eligible, so she’ll now set her sights on the 100.
Men’s 200 Breaststroke – Finals
- World Record: 2:05.48 — Qin Haiyang, China (2023)
- Canadian Record: 2:08.84 – Mike Brown (2008)
- World Aquatics ‘A’ Standard: 2:10.32
- Canadian World Juniors Standard: 2:16.09
Podium:
GOLD – Oliver Dawson (GPP) – 2:11.25
SILVER – Justice Migneault (UBCT/HPCVN) – 2:13.74
BRONZE – Apollo Hess (HPCON) – 2:14.26
17-year-old Oliver Dawson claimed the men’s 200 breast title with a time of 2:11.25, smashing his personal best and setting a new 15-17 Canadian age group record. An Indiana University commit, Dawson previously posted a lifetime best of 2:12.42 at the 2024 Canadian Olympic Trials, where he also secured victory.
On becoming the fastest 17-year-old in Canadian history in the 200 breaststroke, he said, “I’m really happy, that was the goal all season.”
With the 50 and 100 breast still to come, he said he’s focused on preparation: “Tomorrow I’ll work on my 100 pace and then just go for it.”
British Columbia’s Justice Migneault finished 2nd in 2:13.74, just shy of his career best 2:13.52, which he earned en route to bronze at Trials last year.
Apollo Hess rounded out the podium in 3rd with a 2:14.26, eclipsing his lifetime best of 2:14.46 set earlier this year at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim Series.
Women’s 100 Backstroke – Finals
- World Record: 57.13 — Regan Smith, United States (2024)
- Canadian Record: 57.70 – Kylie Masse (2021)
- World Aquatics ‘A’ Standard: 1:00.46
- Canadian World Juniors Standard: 1:02.53
Podium:
GOLD – Kylie Masse (TSC) – 58.18
SILVER – Taylor Ruck (KAJ) – 58.93
BRONZE – Ingrid Wilm (CASC/HPCVN) – 59.26
Kylie Masse, 29, continued her domestic dominance in the women’s 100 back, winning the final with a commanding 58.18. The most accomplished backstroker in Canadian history, Masse holds the Canadian record at 57.70 and is the only Canadian female swimmer to win medals at three straight Olympics.
After the swim, Masse said, “It feels great to be able to get myself on the team on the first day. Hopefully the rest of the week I can just enjoy it.”
On being under Canadian record pace at the 50 (28.03), and her thoughts on the 58.18 overall time, she stated, “Yeah, it feels really good. It’s been a different year for me and I just feel really grateful to be here, competing still, and to put up a time faster than I did at the Olympics is special and something I’m really proud of.”
Looking ahead to the World Championships in Singapore, Masse added, “I think I just need to continue putting in the work and really focus on the skills, because I feel like on the international stage that’s where I fall behind. So I want to really put in the work on those details.”
25-year-old Taylor Ruck touched 2nd in 58.93, marking her fastest time in six years and her 2nd-quickest ever. The Herbie Behm-coached four-time Olympic relay medalist’s best of 58.55 was set at this same meet in April of 2019.
Ingrid Wilm took 3rd with a 59.26, just shy of her personal-best 58.80 from last year’s Trials and only 0.01 off her 6th-place time of 59.25 from the Olympics last summer.
Men’s 100 Backstroke – Finals
- World Record: 51.60 — Thomas Ceccon, Italy (2022)
- Canadian Record: 53.35 – Markus Thormeyer (2019)
- World Aquatics ‘A’ Standard: 53.94
- Canadian World Juniors Standard: 55.94
Podium:
GOLD – Cole Pratt (CASC/HPCVN) – 54.27
SILVER – Blake Tierney (GOLD/HPCON) – 54.28
BRONZE – Parker Deshayes (CASC) – 55.23
In a fairly substantial upset, Cole Pratt upended defending champion Blake Tierney by out-touching him at the wall by just 0.01, 54.27 to 54.28. Notably, Tierney slipped off the block and his preliminary swim of 54.02 would’ve been enough to win the gold tonight.
Pratt, who owns a personal best of 53.54 from the 2021 Olympic Trials, was out six tenths faster at the 50 before holding on for the very last stroke.
“Oh man, I thought he was ahead of me, but I guess I just had him,” Pratt said of out-touching Tierney at the wall.
On training alongside Tierney daily and whether it’s helped him, Pratt adde, “Oh yeah, oh yeah—like when I came into the center back in December, I was amazed every day by what Blake was doing, and it’s hard not to improve when you have someone like Blake training with you day in and day out.”
Tierney owns a personal best of 53.48, set at this meet last year while winning the Olympic Trials. He also set a Canadian record of 1:56.74 in the 200 back at that meet. He ultimately went on to miss the finals in Paris, placing 16th in the 100 back with a time of 53.71 and 19th in the 200 back with 1:58.39.
Parker Deshayes rounded out this evening’s podium in a career-best 55.23, while Florida freshman Aiden Norman, the reigning Junior Pan Pacs champion, clocked 55.36 to finish 5th. Norman holds a lifetime best of 53.71 from that meet but wasn’t able to recapture that form tonight.
Women’s 400 Freestyle – Finals
World Record: 3:55.38 — Ariarne Titmus, Australia (2023)Canadian Record: 3:56.08 – Summer McIntosh (2023)- World Aquatics ‘A’ Standard: 4:10.23
- Canadian World Juniors Standard: 4:16.52
Podium:
GOLD – Summer McIntosh (UNCAN) – 3:54.18 *WORLD RECORD*
SILVER – Ella Jansen (ESWIM) – 4:07.36
BRONZE – Ella Cosgrove (UNCAN) – 4:10.64
Summer McIntosh kicked of the Canadian Swimming Trials with a bang as she demolished Ariarne Titmus‘ World Record of 3:55.38 in the 400 freestyle. She swam 3:54.18 to also take nearly two seconds off her own Canadian Record in the event of 3:56.08, which was also a World record at the time she swam it.
What was most striking about this swim was the way that McIntosh split the race. When she set the previous record she was out like a bullet, splitting 1:55.91 before coming home in 2:00.17. This time around she was out half a second slower but came home in a phenomenal 1:57.76. That was more than half a second faster than on Titmus’ previous record, one where she blew the field away in the last 100.
Splits Comparison:
| McIntosh 2025 – 3:54.18 | Titmus 2023 – 3:55.38 | McIntosh 2023- 3:56.08 | |
| 100 | 56.95 | 56.92 | 56.46 |
| 200 | 1:56.42 (59.47) | 1:56.94 (1:00.02) | 1:55.91 (59.45) |
| 300 | 2:55.65 (59.23) | 2:56.90 (59.96) | 2:55.84 (59.93) |
| 400 | 3:54.18 (58.53) | 3:55.38 (58.48) | 3:56.08 (1:00.24) |
After the race, McIntosh said, “Going into tonight, I knew my training had been really good these past few months and I knew I could do something special,” he said. “Being able to put that training into the race, I mean, I didn’t think it would translate to a 54.1, but I’m really happy with that overall.”
She added, “To be honest, I just didn’t really feel a lot of pain in that race. I felt so strong throughout and that’s never been the case in the 400 freestyle for me. That last 100, I’m usually really, really hurting. But I flipped at the 200 and I was just cruising. I knew I was having a strong swim and I could tell by the crowd and the way they were cheering that I was probably close to the world record, so I really tried to push that last part for them.”
SwimSwam originally reported that McIntosh attended a three-week altitude training camp in the Pyrenees Mountains with CN d’Antibes, however in April the club shared on social media that McIntosh was still preparing for the 2025 Worlds with the program. She returned to Canada recently in preparation for the Canadian Swimming Trials, and will be moving to join Bob Bowman’s Pro group at Texas after the conclusion of the World Championships in August.
Men’s 400 Freestyle – Finals
- World Record: 3:39.96 — Lukas Martens, Germany (2025)
- Canadian Record: 3:43.46 – Ryan Cochrane (2014)
- World Aquatics ‘A’ Standard: 3:48.15
- Canadian World Juniors Standard: 3:54.30
Podium:
GOLD – Ethan Ekk (UNCAN) – 3:49.57
SILVER – Jordi Vilchez (BTSC) – 3:49.63
BRONZE – Eric Brown (PCSC) – 3:50.43
Stanford commit Ethan Ekk surged to gold in the men’s 400 free, clocking 3:49.57 to shave more than two seconds off his previous best of 3:51.59 from prelims. The Stanford commit has now dropped over three seconds in just over a month, having entered the meet with a personal best of 3:52.67.
Ohio State swimmer Jordi Vilchez nearly claimed the title tonight, slashing his 2023 best of 3:51.57 down to 3:49.63 to take silver, just 0.06 behind Ekk.
Ekk took the race out more aggressively, flipping in 26.73 at the 50 and 55.79 at the 100, giving him a 0.57-second advantage over Vilchez at that point. Vilchez, who turned in 27.33 and 56.36 through those checkpoints, began to close the gap during the middle 200 meters. From 100 to 300, Vilchez was consistently faster, notching back-to-back splits of 29.75, 29.39, and 29.12, compared to Ekk’s 29.57, 29.65, and 29.39. That stretch allowed Vilchez to pull nearly even by the 300-meter mark. They swam almost identically splits on the final two 50s, with Ekk maintaining a slight lead for the entirety of the two laps.
Ekk swam for Canada at the 2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, where he was an A finalist in the 200 free (2nd), 200 back (3rd), and 200 IM (7th). He left that meet with new best times in the 200 free (1:48.68), 200 back (1:58.28), and 200 IM (2:04.33).
Eric Brown, who held a personal best of 3:50.68 from the 2023 World Championships, also swam a PB tonight (3:50.43) to claim bronze.
Para Swimming – Finals
- In addition to the previously mentioned athletes, para swimmers are back in action tonight, racing alongside their non-para counterparts in the same finals session.
- Para swimming is open to athletes with physical disabilities such as dwarfism, amputation/limb loss, blindness/visual impairment, spinal cord injury/wheelchair-users, cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke, cognitive impairment, and Les autres.
- Para athletes are classified into categories based on the nature and severity of their impairments: physical (S1-S10), visual (S11-S13), and intellectual (S14). This classification system ensures a level playing field by grouping athletes with similar impairments, allowing for fair competition. To learn more about Para Swimming, including how the points system determines winners rather than time, click here.
Key Highlights:
- Ali Diehl, a class SB9 swimmer, posted a time of 1:24.44 in the women’s 100 breast multi-class prelims. Her swim earned 850 points. She was marginally quicker in prelims, where she logged 1:24.22 for 856 points.
- Nicholas Bennett, classified SB14, notched a time of 1:05.13 in the men’s 100 breast multi-class final, earning 975 points, though he was faster in prelims with a 1:05.28 that scored 1008 points. He holds the Americas record of 1:03.71, set in Toronto in May last year. Bennett is the reigning Paralympic champion in both this event and the 200 IM (SM14).
- Behind Bennett, two SB9 swimmers posted strong finals performances: Fernando Lu clocked 1:10.84 for 939 points, and James Leroux followed in 1:12.21, earning 913 points. Jagdev Gill (SB9) was next with a 1:15.20, good for 856 points.
Which elite Canadian swimmers actually train in Canada?
Great swim by Summer tonight! Beating a wr of a champion like Ariarne by 1.2 seconds is really quite special.
Kudos to Kylie, Taylor and MSH for their swims tonight as well.
Summer bouta throw competitive mens times up this quad
2 Summers swimming a 400 free each (with one of them having a rolling start) could’ve placed 5th in the 4×200 last year lol
Summer’s world record should’ve been filmed in HD in a well lit venue.
Will Summer be the Greatest of all Time? She can do it all! Her versatility reminds me of Tracy Caulkins..Ledecky is a pure distance freestyler..granted, the best, and Summer would probably take even the mile if she trained for it..her issue will be the Olympic Schedule..I cannot imagine what she will do with Bowman!
Bowman should use his power to good use and lobby LA 2028 to make schedule fitting for Summer!
I hope she swims 5 individual events in LA and match Shane Gould’s record for most individual medals in a single Olympics.
If Summer can swim through 2036 Olympics, she has a good chance to become greatest of all time.
Right now and until 2036 at least, Ledecky is GOAT
Sjostrom > Ledecky imo.
“pure distance”… she split 52.7 in the 100 free. And Summer absolutely could not break the mile record. With enough training, she may have a shot at the 800, but not the mile.
As for greatest of all time, let me know when she has 28 Olympic Medals, or 8 from one Games. The Olympic schedule wasn’t an issue for MP it seems
But three of Phelps’ medals were from relays plus Phelps didn’t do 2 individual events in one day. I don’t deny he was incredible. Summer maybe gets 1 from a relay.
Yeah, if Summer were an Australian or American, she’d have won many more medals from relays.
Her parents should have thought about that and taken the short drive to buffalo when she was due
She would only be on the 200 free relay if she were from the US or AUS.
She would still have more relay medals, though, probably.
Either country would give her prelim swims just to inflate her medal tally.
I hope summer swims the 400 free in singapore in a time near her wr. she has been far from consistent in the 400 free. she breaks the wr and then goes over three seconds slower in championship finals on the world stage. but a 3.54.1 is crazy
Well it’s good news because even if she goes 3:57.1, that’s a good chance of winning gold
consistency is not an issue for Summer. But she doesn’t have a luxury of swimming 4:10 in prelims at championships
Summer – you’ll just have to split an average of 60.5 s per 100 m in the 800 m tomorrow to make our day again on SwimSwam. You’ve got this!