2026 Canadian Swimming Trials: Day 1 Prelims 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

The first preliminary session of the 2026 Canadian Swimming Trials is set to get underway in Montreal, as the five-day event will help determine who will represent Canada this summer at the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, CA.

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.

Preliminary heats of the 200 freestyle, 100 backstroke, and 200 butterfly are on tap for both the men and women, along with the para 50 backstroke, 100 backstroke, and 100 butterfly. Stay tuned for live updates.

Women’s 200m Freestyle – Prelims

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

Top 10:

Men’s 200m Freestyle – Prelims

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

Top 10:

Women’s 100m Backstroke – Prelims

• World Record: 57.13 — Regan Smith, United States (2024)
• Canadian Record: 57.70 – Kylie Masse (2021)
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Standard: 1:00.46

Top 10:

1. Kylie Masse (TSC) – 59.30
2. Madison Kryger (BROCK/HPCON) – 1:00.07
3. Taylor Ruck (HPCVN) – 1:00.32
4. Ingrid Wilm (CASC/HPCVN) – 1:01.11
5. Delia Lloyd (ESWIM) – 1:01.76
6. Reina Liu (UNCAN) – 1:01.80
7. Lexi Stephens (TNAQ) – 1:01.82
8. Sienna Rodgers (UCSC) – 1:02.60
9. Olive Rogers (ESWIM) – 1:02.83
10. Halayna Montrichard (BAC) – 1:02.84

All eyes will be on Canadian Record holder and two-time defending Trials champion Kylie Masse in the women’s 100m back final, but 2023 National Champion Ingrid Wilm and the on-fire Taylor Ruck will look to make it a tight race.

Masse recorded the sole performance under the one-minute barrier this morning, swimming 59.30 to lead Madison Kryger (1:00.07) by just under a second. Taylor Ruck hit the wall in a time of 1:00.32 for the third seed, with Ingrid Wilm notching 1:01.11 for fourth-seed status.

Masse’s time this morning undercut her season-best 59.50 from the Mel Zejac International meet earlier in the summer, while Kryger dipped under her former best time of 1:00.27, which she clocked en route to bronze at the 2025 World Junior Championships.

Ruck owns a season best of 58.71 in this event from the Barcelona leg of the Mare Nostrum tour, a time that ranks her #9 in the world so far this season and represents her second-fastest time of her career, only behind the 58.55 best time she produced for runner-up at the 2019 Canadian Trials.

Wilm has been 59.22 during the Mare Nostrum circuit so far this season; her best remains the 58.80 she threw down at this meet back in 2023.

Men’s 100m Backstroke – Prelims

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

Top 10:

Women’s 200m Butterfly – Prelims

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

Top 10:

1. Summer McIntosh (UNCAN) – 2:08.25
2. Mary-Sophie Harvey (CAMO) – 2:12.31
3. Alexandra Byrn (UNCAN) – 2:14.39
4. Juliet Nicholson (KAJ) – 2:14.69
5. Clare Watson (UNCAN) – 2:15.78
6. Kaitlyn Stanojlovic (PCSC) – 2:15.95
7. Charlotte Brousseau (CAMO) – 2:16.04
8. Emilie Golinowski (KAJ) – 2:17.27
9. Michelle Zeng (CDSC) – 2:17.73
10. Kaia Hornby (AJAX/OSA) – 2:17.95

Another 200m fly, another dominant performance from Summer McIntosh.

The 19-year-old, who is the defending Olympic Champion and a three-time World Champion in the event, swam a smooth 2:08.25 to secure the top seed over versatile veteran Mary-Sophie Harvey (2:12.31), with Alexandra Byrn (2:14.39) rounding out the top three qualifiers.

McIntosh, who has been vocal about wanting to get the world record in this event, has broken world records at this meet each of the past three years, and this is the only event of her ‘core four’ in which she doesn’t hold the world standard. Given her PB of 2:01.99 is just 0.18 shy of Liu Zige’s long-standing record of 2:01.81 from 2009, swim fans will eagerly watch the clock tonight to see if the mark can go down, or if she’s saving herself to go all-in at Pan Pacs later in the summer.

As for Harvey, her 2:12.31 this morning was just over two seconds shy of her 2:10.19 personal best from the Giant Open in March, in a relatively new event for her. She could have conceivably raced in any of the three events this morning and been a contender for a podium finish.

Byrn, a USC commit, was just off her career-best time of 2:14.15 from the 2025 U.S. Junior National Championships.

Men’s 200m Butterfly – Prelims

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

Top 10:

1. Anton Semenyuk (NG/HPCON) – 1:58.92
2. Jordan Schaepper (NKB) – 2:00.26
3. Minhyuk Park (OS) – 2:00.37
4. Benjamin Loewen (CREST) – 2:00.82
5. Aiden Kirk (KAJ/HPCVN) – 2:00.84
6. Jordi Vilchez (BTSC) – 2:01.93
7. Sebastien Voicu (CAMO) – 2:02.24
8. Zergio Quevedo (ELITE) – 2:02.33
9. Andrew Ploof (UMIZ) – 2:02.84
10. Jaques Harrison (CREST/HPCVN) – 2:03.05

The men’s 200m fly prelims were a bit more subdued, with only one swimmer dipping under two minutes and no one within two seconds of the Pan Pacific Standard of 1:56.51.

Anton Semenyuk led the way with a time of 1:58.92, more than a second ahead of Jordan Schaepper and Minhyuk Park, who posted a pair of 2:00-low swims in 2:00.26 and 2:00.37.

Semenyuk, the defending champion, holds a best time of 1:58.40 from the Westmont leg of the Pro Swim Series back in March. He finished fifth in this event at the World Junior Championships last August and is in a strong position to take the mantle in this event on domestic soil following Olympic bronze medalist Ilya Kharun‘s change of country representation.

Schaepper crushed his former best time of 2:03.25 from the 2025 Canadian Trials, while Park sliced over half a second off the 2:00.98 he produced at the Mel Zejac International meet last month.

Para Swimming – Prelims

• In addition to the previously mentioned athletes, para swimmers were also out in full force this morning in the multi-class events.
  • 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.

Results:

• In the women’s S2-S5 50m backstroke, there were just two competitors: Aly Van Wyck-Smart (S3), who swam 1:08.54 for 738 points, and Jordan Tucker (S4), who posted 1:06.84 for 615 points.
• Etienne Boutin-Cote (S4) was the sole swimmer to take to the pool in the men’s S1-S5 50m backstroke. He hit the wall in a time of 1:03.61, scoring 440 points in the process.
• The women’s S2, S6, S8-S14 100m backstroke saw Jaime Cosgriffe (S10) take the top spot with 1003 points, clocking a time of 1:08.69. Mary C. Jibb (S10) earned 944 points with a 1:12.07, followed by Veronica MacLellan (S10) with 860 points in 1:16.62.
• The men’s S1, S2, S6-S14 100m backstroke consisted of three swimmers: Leo Zheng (S6), Ramon Siytangco (S14), and Gabriel Martel (S11). Siytangco posted the quickest time of 1:13.54, ahead of Zheng’s 1:28.34 and Martel’s 1:30.57, but it was Zheng who scored the most points with 806, followed by Siytangco’s 663 and Martel’s 590.
• In the women’s S8-S10, S13, S14 100m fly, Jaime Cosgriffe (S10) took the top spot with 999 points, posting a time of 1:06.67. Marianne Leroux (S10) earned 891 points with a 1:12.46, while Tianna Asala (S10) secured 875 points in 1:13.28.
• Fernando Lu (S10) claimed the top spot in the men’s S8-S14 100m fly with 947 points, posting a time of 58.60. Nicholas Bennett (S14) followed closely with 940 points in 57.99, while Jagdev Gill (S10) rounded out the top three with 922 points, courtesy of his 59.74.