2024 Canadian Olympic & Paralympic Trials: Day 3 Finals 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 | Day 3 Recap
• Finals – Day 1 Recap | Day 2 Recap

Day 3 Finals Heat Sheets

Good evening folks and welcome back to Toronto’s Pan Am Sports Centre for the third night of finals at the 2024 Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Trials. It’s shaping up to be another busy session with finals for the men’s and women’s para 400 freestyle, men’s 200 freestyle, women’s 100 backstroke, men’s 200 breatstroke, women’s 1500 freestyle, and the men’s para 150 IM.

Live Stream:

Courtesy of CBC via Youtube

DAY 3 Finals Schedule

• Women’s Para 400 Free
• Men’s Para 400 Free
• Men’s Open 200 Free
• Women’s Open 100 Back
• Men’s Open 200 Breast
• Women’s Open 1500 freestyle (fastest timed final)
• Men’s Para 150 IM

The session starts with the women’s and men’s para 400 freestyles. Across the two events, we’ll see three Canadian record holders as Aurelie Rivard, Sabrina Duchesne, and Reid Maxwell all own the national record in their respective classifications. Not only does Rivard own the Canadian Para S10 Record, but her 4:24.08 is also the S10 world record. She swam that mark for gold in Tokyo and she’s been on the podium in the event for the last three Olympics. She should qualify for the Paralympic team without an issue in her first final of these Trials, it’s just a question of how fast she’s going to swim.

Last night, we had fireworks and a changing of the guard in the women’s 200 freestyle and tonight we’ll see how the men match up. Josh Liendo and Finlay Knox, the second and third fastest qualifiers out of prelims, have both scratched–which made room for the top seed Javier Acevedo to sneak back into the final in an outside lane. Acevedo almost certainly punched his ticket to Paris last night with his runner-up finish and personal best in the 100 back so we’ll see if he can take advantage of this second chance he’s gotten.

Update 6:13pm ET: Acevedo just posted on social media that he has also scratched the 200 freestyle final, which he did with less than an hour until the start of finals. 

Quick update: Won’t be swimming tonight in 200 free. When I made the decision it was past the scratch deadline by about an hour, so apologies for not doing it sooner and leaving an empty lane. https://t.co/HPPxOpmP28

— Javier Acevedo (@JavAcevedo98) May 15, 2024

Those scratches leave the door open for new swimmers to step up and take a shot at making the 4×200 free relay. Patrick Hussey leads the way in a 1:47.81, with Alex Axon–the 400 freestyle winner–sitting further back in 1:48.44. Meanwhile, Lorne Wigginton is looking to bounce back after missing out on qualfying for Paris in his main event, the 400 IM, last night.

Then, we shift gears to the women’s 100 backstroke. All eyes will be on the middle of the pool, where Kylie Masse aims to make another Olympic team. In prelims, Masse ripped a 58.27–her fastest time since the 2021 Canadian Olympic Trials. That was a huge swim from Masse; she had a tough 2023 and is looking to show that she is still capable of disrupting Kaylee McKeown and Regan Smith at the top of the podium.

GPP’s Oliver Dawson comes in as the fastest qualifer in the men’s 200 breaststroke, courtesy of the Canadian Age Group record he set (2:14.20). He out-touched Justice Migneault in his heat (2:14.86) and the two will be next to each other in the final to do battle once again.

WOMEN’S 400 PARA FREE – Final

• Canadian S7 Record/Paralympic MSQ/MET Standards: 5:20.59 – Sabrina Duchesne (2021)/5:38.52/6:00.00
• Canadian S10 Record/Paralympic MSQ/MET Standards: 4:24.08 – Aurelie Rivard (2021)/4:58.86/5:02.46

Top 10: 

1. Aurelie Rivard (S10) — 4:33.64 (964 Para Points) *S10 MSQ*
2. Sabrina Duchesne (S7) — 5:24.68 (886 Para Points) *S7 MSQ*

Both Aurelie Rivard and Sabrina Duchesne cleared their classification’s MSQ with ease and improved from their prelims swims by about six seconds. Rivard’s 4:33.64 means that she will have the chance to defend her 400 freestyle S10 Paralympic gold medal as she all but certainly earns a ticket to her fourth Olympic Games.

Duchesne, who is the Canadian S7 Record holder in this event, cleared the S7 MSQ standard by well over ten seconds, touching in 5:24.68.

MEN’S 400 PARA FREE – Final

• Canadian S8 Record/Paralympic MSQ/MET Standards: 4:33.15 – Reid Maxwell (2024)/4:43.89/4:51.00

Top 10:

1. Reid Maxwell (S8) — 4:28.20 (1008 Para Points)
2. Philippe Vachon (S8) — 4:40.88 (894 Para Points)
3. Zach Zona (S8) — 4:43.53 (873 Para Points)

So far at Canadian Trials, we’ve seen Para athletes across classifications race each other. For example, Rivard and Duchesne race in the S10 and S7 categories respectively, but still went head to head in the same final. In the men’s para 400 free though, we’ve got a race that’s solely made up of swimmers racing in one classifications as Reid Maxwell, Philippe Vachon, and Zach Zona all race in the S8 classification.

The teenage Maxwell had a dominant performance, smashing his own Canadian S8 Record with a 4:28.20. That’s a 4.95 second drop for Maxwell. He said post-race that the time surpassed his goal which had been to swim 4:30.

MEN’S 200 FREE– Final

• World Record: 1:42.00 – Paul Biedermann, Germany (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. Alex Axon (MAC) — 1:47.56
2. Patrick Hussey (PCSC) — 1:47.78
3. Lorne Wigginton (HP-CON) — 1:47.93
4. Jeremy Bagshaw (ISC) — 1:48.49
5. Antoine Sauvé (CAMO) — 1:48.53
6. Filip Senc-Samardzic (TSC) — 1:48.70
7. Ethan Ekk (UN-CAN) — 1:49.20
8. Jordi Vilchez (BTSC) — 1:49.67
9. Tristan Jankovics (RCAQ) — 1:49.79
10. Laon Kim (UCSC) — 1:49.98

At the Olympic Trials for the Tokyo Games, Peter Brothers won this event in 1:49.07. That time would have been seventh tonight, which just speaks to the leap forward this event has taken for the Canadian men in the last three years.

Alex Axon kept his momentum rolling at Trials, following up his 400 freestyle win with another here in the 200. Like he did in that 400 free, the difference was Axon’s closing speed. He was third at the final turn behind Lorne Wigginton and Patrick Hussey, but came flying home in 27.41 to get his hand on the wall first. His 1:47.56 is his second best time of the day, resetting his mark from prelims (1:48.44). Coming into the day, he had yet to break 1:50.

After leading at the 50 (25.05) and the 100 (52.26), Patrick Hussey surrendered the lead to Wigginton over the third 50. But he came back on the last length of the pool and got his hand on the wall in second, shaving a few more hundredths off his prelims best in 1:47.78.

And Wigginton–after missing an Olympic berth in the 400 IM–got his hand on the wall third in a personal best 1:47.93. As there are only a certain number of relay-only spots available all three of these swimmers and Jeremy Bagshaw will have to wait until the end of the meet to see if they are officially named to the team. For Bagshaw, who just graduated medical school it would be the culmination of his entire career–he’s been on the national team for over a decade but has never made the Olympic team.

WOMEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE – Final

• World Record: 57.33 – Kaylee McKeown, Australia (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) — 57.94 *Olympic Qualifying Time*
2. Ingrid Wilm (CASC) — 59.31 *Olympic Qualifying Time*
3. Taylor Ruck (UN-CAN) — 59.78 *Olympic Qualifying Time*
4. Regan Rathwell (GO) — 1:00.23 *Olympic Consideration Time*
5. Madison Kryger (BROCK) — 1:00.73
6. Ashley McMillan (GO) — 1:01.16
7. Danielle Hanus (RAPID) — 1:01.20
8. Delia Lloyd (ESWIM) — 1:01.36
9. Reina Liu (UN-CAN) — 1:01.50
10. Madelyn Gatrall (WAC) — 1:01.60

Kylie Masse put the world on notice in prelims, swimming a 58.27. That was the fourth fastest time in the world this season and her fastest effort since 2021. She obliterated that mark in the final, breaking 58 seconds for the first time since the Tokyo Games. She split 27.97 to the feet, then came home in 29.97 to stop the clock in 57.94.

The swim moves her up to third in the world this season behind McKeown and Smith. It’s also the fourth fastest performance of Masse’s career.

Ingrid Wilm opened in 28.62 ahead of Taylor Ruck‘s 29.05 opening split. Wilm kept herself ahead of Ruck and got her hand on the wall in second in 59.31. That’s safely under the Olympic Qualifying Time, qualifying her for her first nomination to the Olympic team.

And in an encouraging sign, Ruck–who scratched the 200 freestyle–was also under the OQT in 59.78. She won’t make the team because she finished third but it’s a season-best time for Ruck and her first time breaking 1:00 since the Canada’s 2022 World Championship trials. Ruck’s best shot at the Olympic team is likely the 100 freestyle and this should be a big confidence boost for that swim later in the week.

MEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE – Final

• World Record: 2:05.48 – Qin Haiyang, China (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) — 2:12.42
2. Brayden Taivassalo (MAC) — 2:12.83
3. Justice Migneault (HP-CVN) — 2:13.52
4. Kiet Kong (MAC) — 2:15.94
5. Sinan Onur (PCSC) — 2:16.44
6. Gabe Mastromatteo (KSS) — 2:16.56
7. Tanner Cole (OSC) — 2:17.16
8. Nathan Thomas (ESWIM) — 2:17.54
9. Justin Jung (LOSC) — 2:17.82
10. Jacob Gallant (FAST) — 2:19.99

16-year-old Oliver Dawson continues to impress this week at Trials. Earlier in the meet, he surprised for fifth place in the 100 breast and nearly broke the Canadian Age Group record. Well here in the 200 breast, he’s just taken it down for the second time in one day.

Dawson used a back-half strategy that we’ve seen become more popular in the 200 berast in recent years. He was fifth at the first turn (30.15), then settled into third place over the middle 100 meters, splitting 34.42/34.26. Big XII 200 breast winner and top seed Brayden Taivassalo had the lead at the final turn, with Justice Migneault in second.

Dawson charged home, splitting 33.59 on the final 50 meters to pass both Taivassalo and Migneault for the win in 2:12.42. Dawson was 2:14.20 in prelims, meaning he takes another 1.78 seconds off his personal best time. When asked post-race how he felt, he said “good.”

Taivassalo clocked 2:12.83 for 2nd place, while Migneault rounded out the podium with a personal best 2:13.52 for third place.

WOMEN’s 1500 Freestyle — Fastest Timed Final

• World Record: 15:20.48 — Katie Ledecky, United States (2018)
• Canadian Record: 15:57.15 — Brittany MacLean (2014)
• 2021 Champion: Katrina Bellio — 16:29.67
• OLY Qualifying/Consideration Standard: 16:09.09/16:13.94

Top 10: 

1. Emma Finlin (EKSC) — 16:28.15
2. Julia Strojnowska (LOSC) — 16:42.99
3. Peyton Leigh (BROCK) — 16:59.05
4. Laila Oravsky (BTSC) — 17:07.30
5. Taira Vroom (BTSC) — 17:08.86
6. Tori Meklensek (DSC) — 17:15.20
7. Mariana Cabezas Garzon (ESWIM) — 17:21.06
8. Huini Xu (MAC) — 17:22.98
9. Naomi Mynott (WDSC) — 17:29.04
10. Neala Klein (UN-CAN) — 17:29.12

Emma Finlin won this women’s 1500 freestyle easily, clocking a 16:28.15 to finish 14.84 seconds ahead of the second place Julia Strojnowska. Despite dominating the field, Finlin admitted post-race that she was “disappointed” with the swim. Indeed, she missed both the Olympic Qualifying and Consideration times in this event. However, she still got to sign her name on the Olmypic qualifers board as she’s qualified to represent Canada in the open water 10K.

Strojnowska clocked 16:42.99 for second place while Peyton Leigh swam a big personal best of 16:59.05 for third. Her previous best was 17:23.66 from the Canadian Open, which means Leigh dropped about 24 seconds in a month.

MEN’S 150 IM PARA – Final

• Canadian SM4 Record/Paralympic MSQ/MET Standards: 3:00.34 – Sebastian Massabie (2024)/2:50.06/2:59.45

Top 10: 

DSQ: Sebastian Massabie (SM4) — 3:00.75

After setting a Canadian SM4 Para Record of 3:00.34 in prelims, Massabie posted a 3:00.75 here in the final–slightly off his best as missing the Paralympic MET standard.

However, it turned out that he was disqualified, though the results do not say what he was disqualified for. (And they still had him do the post-race interview on deck).

Throughout this meet Massabie has been going faster in prelims than in finals; earlier he set an S4 world record in the 50 butterfly during the heats before adding in finals.