2026 Canadian Swimming Trials: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

2026 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials

• July 5-9, 2026
• Montreal, Canada — Montreal Olympic Pool
• LCM (50 Meters)
• Meet Central
• Pan Pacific Championships Selection Criteria
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• How To Watch
• Recaps:
  • Prelims: Day 1

It is the first final session of the 2026 Canadian Swimming Trials, where some of the first selections for the Pan Pacific Championship team for Canada will be made.

As a reminder, the Canadian Commonwealth Games team was pre-selected back in October, so this meet only pertains to Pan Pacs qualifying. The selection criteria for Pan Pacs is linked above, but SwimSwam will post a roster update after the conclusion of each finals session.

Tonight will feature the finals of the 200 freestyle, 100 back, 200 fly, and the fastest heat of the men’s 800 freestyle.

Ella Jansen narrowly claimed the top seed in the women’s 200 free this morning over Summer Cardwell, touching in 1:57.89 to Cardwell’s 1:58.17, both of which were under the World Aquatics ‘A’ standard time.

Lorne Wigginton led a trio of sub-1:49 performers in the 200 free this morning in 1:47.33. Just behind him are podium threats Tristan Jankovics (1:48.52) and Laon Kim (1:48.75).

Canadian Record holder Kylie Masse cruised to the top time in the women’s 100 back in 59.30; she was the lone sub-1:00 performer in the prelims.

Another national record holder topped the men’s 100 back as Blake Tierney finished seven tenths ahead of the field to secure the middle lane in 53.94.

Unsurprisingly, the biggest name at this meet, and arguably one of the biggest in the world, Summer McIntosh topped the prelims of the women’s 200 butterfly, swimming an easy top-seeded time of 2:08.25, more than four seconds quicker than anybody else in the field.

Anton Semenyuk turned in the top time in the prelims on the men’s side of the 200 fly, touching as the lone swimmer under 2:00 in 1:58.92.

Women’s 200m Freestyle – Finals

• World Record: 1:52.23 – Ariarne Titmus, Australia (2024)
• Canadian Record: 1:53.65 – Summer McIntosh, (2023)
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Standard: 1:58.23

Gold – Ella Jansen – 1:57.58

Silver – Summer Cardwell – 1:58.01

Bronze – Sienna Angove – 1:58.11

Sienna Angove got out fast in 27.51, though it was Jansen who took over the lead at the 100 in 57.28. The rest of the field would not back down, as five swimmers turned within four-tenths of a second from Jansen.

Jansen was able to show some high-level racing experience, as, similar to this morning, it was Jansen who managed to hold on and turn in the only sub-1:58 time in the 1:57.58.

Summer Cardwell also continued her strong day, nearly cracking that 1:58 barrier in 1:58.01 to finish runner-up and under the World Aquatics ‘A’ standard. Rounding out the top three was Angove, touching just a tenth behind Cardwell in 1:58.11.

8 of the 10 finalists touched under 2:00.

Men’s 200m Freestyle – Finals

• World Record: 1:42.00 – Paul Biedermann, Germany (2009)
• Canadian Record: 1:46.39 – Antoine Sauve (2025)
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Standard: 1:46.70

Gold – Lorne Wigginton – 1:47.33

Silver – Laon Kim/Ethan Ekk -(tie) 1:47.56

Bronze – n/a

The outside lanes dominated the opening stages of the race, as Ruslan Gaziev fired off a rapid 22.56 out of lane 9 to take an early sprinter’s advantage to open up. At the 100, Gaziev was still firmly in the lead, though Finlay Knox out of lane 1 also made a serious move up to 2nd, just half a second slower than Gaziev (52.02) in 52.65.

That would not be how the race would finish, as top seed Lorne Wigginton, who swam a best time of 1:47.33 in the prelims, used a major back half to get himself firmly in contention on the final 100 meters, ultimately flying past the field to take the win in 1:47.37.

The rest of the podium had no change, as Laon Kim and Ethan Ekk both tied for the 2nd-fastest time in the event final at 1:47.56, leaving Knox just off the podium at 1:48.40.

Women’s 100m 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

Gold – Taylor Ruck – 58.37

Silver – Kylie Masse – 58.87

Bronze – Ingrid Wilm – 59.21

Masse came in as the definite favorite to notch her 3rd consecutive Canadian Trials crown in this event, though it would not play out so favorably. From the start, it was Taylor Ruck in lane 3, just one lane above Masse, who managed to go stroke for stroke with Masee, ultimately turning first at the 50 in 28.16, just ahead of Masse in 28.32.

From there, it was all Ruck, growing her lead to a half second by the final touch, securing the win in 58.37, a full half second faster than Masse in 2nd in 58.87.

Ingrid Wilm, who was firmly in contention from the start, turning 3rd at the 50 in 28.79, managed to maintain her podium position and hold off a charging Madison Kryger (59.59) for 3rd in 59.21.

Men’s 100m Backstroke – Finals

• World Record: 51.60 — Thomas Ceccon, Italy (2022)
• Canadian Record: 52.95 – Blake Tierney (2025)
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Standard: 53.94

Gold – Blake Tierney – 53.63

Silver – Raben Dommann – 53.79

Bronze – Parker Deshayes – 54.73

As it was in the prelims, Tierney, the Canadian record holder, showed his power and ability by taking the win in the men’s 100 backstroke here in 53.63, though it was not simply given, but hard-fought.

At the turn, Tierney was the lone man under 26.5, opening in a blistering 25.90, well over half a second ahead of the field. However, it was the final 25 meters from Raben Dommann, who was 2nd at the 50 in 26.56, who nearly pulled off the upset, touching less than a quarter of a second behind Tierney in 53.63.

Parker Deshayes, who was well outside of the top two, still managed to hold off Ethan Ekk, who was swimming his second final of the evening, touching seven hundredths faster in 54.73, while Ekk missed the podium in 54.80.

Women’s 200m Butterfly – Finals

• World Record: 2:01.81 – Liu Zige, China (2009)
• Canadian Record: 2:01.99 – Summer McIntosh (2025)
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Standard: 2:09.21

Gold – Summer McIntosh – 2:01.65 *NEW WORLD RECORD/CANADIAN RECORD

Silver – Mary-Sophie Harvey – 2:10.58

Bronze – Clare Watson – 2:12.58

In arguably one of the most highly anticipated races of the entire meet, Summer McIntosh was the clear swimmer to watch, and rightfully so, as McIntosh delivered THE fastest performance ever in the 200 butterfly, breaking the longstanding World Record mark from 2009 by Liu Zige of 2:01.81, touching in 2:01.65.

She opened up in 27.45, about a full body length ahead of the field, but the 100, which she turned in 58.21, two tenths faster than she was at the 2025 World Championships in Singapore.

With 50 to go, McIntosh turned in 1:29.73. At this point, she was Ledecky-like, as the only swimmer on the screen through 150 meters.

The final 50 was all guts, as she continued to push and grind to the wall, as the entire arena watched the longest-standing women’s world record be downed in the home country of McIntosh.

Before this swim, McIntosh’s best time sat at 2:01.99 from the World Championships last summer in Singapore.

Men’s 200m Butterfly – Finals

• World Record: 1:50.34 – Kristof Milak, Hungary (2022)
• Canadian Record: 1:52.80 – Ilya Kharun (2024)
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Standard: 1:56.51

Gold – Anton Semenyuk – 1:57.84

Silver – Benjamin Loewen – 1:58.59

Bronze – Jordi Vilchez – 1:59.69

Minhyuk Park led the way in a tight opening first 50 in 26.08, followed closely by Semenyuk in 26.22 and Benjamin Loewen in 26.44. However, it was Semenyuk’s high stroke rate that helped him make up a lot of ground, turning first at the 100 in 55.52, six tenths faster than  Loewen in 56.12, with Park also within striking distance in 56.13.

Semenyuk continued to hold form, taking a 3/4 body length lead over the field, turning about a second ahead of Loewen (1:26.88) in 1:25.89. The final 50, Semenyuk looked strong, as Loewen began to fade just slightly, as the 18-year-old Semenyuk held on to win in 1:57.84, marking his fastest ever time, breaking his own Canadian Age Group Record of 1:58.40. from the Westmont Pro Series earlier this year.

Rounding out the podium was Loewen in 1:58.59, while Jordi Vilchez made a big move up to snag 3rd in 1:59.69.

Men’s 800m Freestyle – Fastest Heat

• World Record: 7:32.12 – Zhang Lin, China (2009)
• Canadian Record: 7:41.86 – Ryan Cochrane (2011)
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Standard: 7:48.66

Gold – Aiden Kirk – 8:03.64

Silver – Oliver Blanchard – 8:06.99

Bronze – Sebastian Paulins – 8:10.50

In the final race of the first evening session, the men’s 800 free was a tightly contested affair as three swimmers had separated themselves from the field at the 400 mark. However, they could not separate from one another, those being Aiden Kirk (4:00.83), Sebastian Paulins (4:00.89), and Oliver Blanchard (4:01.23, all swimming side-by-side-by-side.

Kirk, who came into this meet as the top seed in the event, managed to get about a quarter of a body length of separation between himself and Blanchard at the 500, turning in 5:01.78. On the next 50, Kirk had tripled that distance, giving him plenty of breathing room with 250 meters to go.

By the 650, it was all Kirk, and the advantage had grown to about three and a half seconds. Kirk flew home, closing his effort with a win and a new lifetime best of :03.64, while Blanchard and Paulins followed suit in 2nd and 3rd in 8:06.99 and 8:10.50, respectively.

Para Swimming Results

• Jordan Tucker secured 685 points in the women’s S4 50 backstroke with her winning time of 1:03.76, more than three seconds quicker than her prelims time of 1:06.84.
• Etienne Boutin-Cote, the lone man in the men’s S4 50 backstroke improved on his seed time of 1:02.05 in the finals, touching in 1:01.72, earning 478 points.
• Jaime Cosgriffe notched the lone sub-1:10 time out of the S10 women’s 100 backstroke performers, securing a massive 999 points by way of her 1:08.95 performance.
• From start to finish in the men’s multiclass 100 backstroke, it was Nicolas-Guy Turbide resetting his Canadian S12 record in 1:02.42, touching more than half a second faster than his 1:03.02 seed time.
• Jaime Cosgriffe, for the 2nd time tonight, came away with a solid points haul, this time in the women’s S10 100 butterfly, securing 972 points with her 1:08.17 top time, more than three seconds faster than the rest of the field.
• In the men’s multi-class 100 butterfly, a pair of Canadian Para Records fell, as Fernando Lu and Nicholas Bennett each managed to dip below Canadian Para records for their respective classes.
  • Lu, swimming in the S10 classification, was the overall top points scorer with a 57.63 to bring home 969 points, besting Nathan Stein’s 57.77 from 2014.
  • Bennett, an SS14 swimmer, was the fastest performer in 56.85, scoring 965 points, downing his own record from last June of 57.50.