2025 Canadian Trials: Day 5 Prelims Live Recap

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
• Storylines To Watch
• Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

Day 5 Prelims Heat Sheet

If you’re a fan of Summer McIntosh, don’t worry as you’ll be getting a double dose of her today as she is the top seed in both the 400 IM and 200 Backstroke and will bookend the morning.

The World Record holder in the 400 IM and defending Olympic Gold Medalist, McIntosh is the top seed by over 10 seconds, and while she has been on fire this week, already updating the World Record board, twice, one should modify your expectations as she likely will cruise this morning to save energy both for tonight and for the 200 back.

Mary-Sophie Harvey is the 2nd seed and based on her performances this week looks good to not only make the final but also to book yet another event for her busy schedule in Singapore. 3rd seed and 2024 Paris Olympian Ella Jansen, 1.5 seconds back, may differ as she, too, has already secured her place on the roster and will be looking to add another swim to the schedule.

Already having secured his spot by way of his second-place finish in the 200 IM Tristan Jankovics, like McIntosh, will swim a smooth and controlled race, doing only enough to advance into tonight’s final. Lorne Wigginton, the #2 seed, is still hunting for that spot on the team, and while seeded well below the A cut time, he will need to be careful because not far back is Collyn Gagne, who is looking at this event as his last chance to make the roster.

We stick with the medley events, as the next four events are the Para 150 and 200 IM events. Jamie Cosgriffe and Nicholas Bennett lead their respective fields in the 200 IM, but as a Multi-Class field, swimmers are more interested in performing well against the WR in their classification than against one another.

We flip the usual order as the men’s 200 backstroke will swim before the women’s. The top seed Blake Tierney, #3 seed Ethan Ekk, and #4 seed Cole Pratt have all made the team under Priority 3, but each has a chance of adding another event to their line-up. Tierney is seeded under the A cut, but so too is Aiden Norman, who has yet to book his spot to Singapore, so expect the #2 seed to get out to a strong start tonight to put himself in the best position possible tonight.

The top two seeds, Summer McIntosh and Mabel Zavaros are most likely quite happy that the women’s event has flip-flopped with the men’s, as both are scheduled to swim in the 400 IM earlier in the session. McIntosh has picked up this event recently of late, having won the silver medal at the 2024 Short Course Worlds. Seeded at a 2:06.81, McIntosh, like in the 400 IM, will likely do just enough to get a middle lane tonight, but Zavaros may not have the same options to do so.

Still looking for a ticket to Singapore, Zavaros is seeded .04 under the A cut time, while Kylie Masse‘s absence makes the field open, Madison Kryger, Delia Lloyd, Ingrid Wilm and Bridget Burton are all seeded within a second of Zavaros, so will be looking to make the best of the opportunity, especially as of the four, only Wilm has secured a spot to Singapore.

Women’s 400 I.M. – Prelims

• World Record: 4:24.38 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2024)
• Canadian Record: 4:24.38 – Summer McIntosh, (2024)
• 2024 Olympic Trials Champion: Summer McIntosh – 4:24.38
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 4:43.06
• Canadian World Juniors Standard: 4:54.02

Top 8

1. Summer McIntosh (UNCAN) – 4:40.93
2. Mary-Sophie Harvey (CAMO) – 4:41.02
3. Mabel Zavaros (MAC) – 4:42.02
4. Ella Jansen (ESWIM) – 4:44.37
5. Ashley McMillian (GO) – 4:51.75
6. Shima Taghavi (HYACK) – 4:55.71
7. Olivia Brendzan (EKSC) – 4:57.33
8. Maya Bezanson (TSC) – 4:57.66

Sienna Angove, the 7th seed, did show the first of the two circle-seeded heats, meaning lane 4’s Mary-Sophie Harvey had open water to one side of her. However, jumping out to an early lead was Mabel Zavaros, who opened in 1:02.58, ahead of Ashley McMillian (1:03.05) and Harvey (1:03.65). Zavaros, who is also scheduled to swim the 200 back later on in this session, built upon her lead over the backstroke as she turned at the halfway point in 2:13.61, with a lead of just under six seconds as Harvey, who had moved up into 2nd place was 2:19.43.

Zavaros, a strong butterflier and backstroker, had to attack the front of the race as Harvey, the winner of the 200 breaststroke, is well known for her back half speed, and after just the first 50 of breaststroke, she had closed the gap to 3.46 seconds as she out split Zavaros 39.10 to 41.46.

By the 300-meter mark, Zavaros’s lead had completely evaporated as Harvey’s 38.30 last breaststroke split put her into the lead by .25 as she touched in 3:36.83 to Zavaros’s 3:37.08. Zavaros, who had just completed her last year of eligibility at Florida, tried to stay with Harvey on the freestyle, but Harvey kept her at bay as she won in 4:41.02, exactly one second ahead of Zavaros’s 4:42.02. McMillian held on to take 3rd in the heat, stopping the clock at 4:52.38.

The last heat was all Summer McIntosh, as the world record holder led, not unexpectedly, from start to finish. At the 100 turn, McIntosh led fellow Paris Olympian Ella Jansen, 1:02.00 to 1:03.18, and she extended that lead over the next 100. The top seed in the 200 back, McIntosh turned at the 200 mark in 2:13.36, with Jansen at 2:16.65.

Jansen made up some ground on the breaststroke, McIntosh’s weakest stroke, as she cut about .75 of a second off the lead, outsplitting her in each 50.McIntosh’s 300 split was 3:36.14 as compared to Jansen’s 3:38.68.

Jansen noticeably used her legs more in the freestyle as she tried to stay in contact with McIntosh, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap as McIntosh touched in 4:40.93, with Jansen at 4:44.37.

Men’s 400 I.M. – Prelims

• World Record: 4:02.50 – Leon Marchand, (2023)
• Canadian Record: 4:11.41 – Brian John, (2008)
• 2024 Olympic Trials Champion: Tristan Jankovics – 4:11.74
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 4:17.48
• Canadian World Juniors Standard: 4:26.41

Top 8

1. Lorne Wigginton (ESWIM) – 4:20.18
2. Tristan Jankovics (RCAQ/OSU) – 4:22.26
3. Collyn Gagne (OS) – 4:26.04
4. Eric Brown (PCSC) – 4:26.82
5. Jake Mason (UNCAN) – 4:28.42
6. Jaques Harrison (CREST) – 4:28.90
7. Matthew Syrgiannis (UCSC) – 4:29.99
8. Aiden Kirk (KAJ) – 4:31.09

Still hunting for that ticket to Singapore, the #2 seed, Lorne Wigginton, opened up the first of the circle-seeded heats in a speedy 56.98. He was joined by Eric Brown and Tuja Dreyer under 1:00, albeit with the pair of chasers being well back at 59.62 and 59.64, respectively.

Wigginton, who earned a spot to Paris last year as a member of the 4×200 free relay, finished 2nd in the event last summer 1.10 back of the qualifying standard. He continued to build his lead over the backstroke as he turned in 2:03.73, 4.59 seconds ahead of Eric Brown‘s 2:08.32.

The lead started to balloon even further on the breaststroke as Wigginton posted a 1:14.17 to touch in 3:17.90, nine seconds ahead of Brown’s 3:27.23. The Calgary native, who placed 20th in the event for the Michigan Wolverines, cruised home to stop the clock in 4:20.18, with, Brown, a strong distance swimmer, closing the fap a little to touch in 4:26.82. Nabbing third and getting under the 4:30 barrier by the narrowest of margins was Matthew Syrgiannis, who entered with a seed of 4:30.45 but achieved a mark of 4:29.99.

There was some outside smoke in the last heat as Jake Mason, swimming from lane 1, had the early lead as he opened in 57.94, just ahead of Collyn Gagne‘s 58.06 and top seed Tristan Jankovics‘s 58.30. Jankovics, the winner at trials last summer, asserted his authority on the field as he moved into first place at the halfway mark, making the back-to-breast turn with a split of 2:04.77, just shy of two seconds ahead of Gagne. More outside smoke appeared but in lane 8 this time as Jaques Harrison moved up into 3rd, just .22 shy of Gagne’s time of 2:06.49.

Gagne took the lead after the first 50 of breaststroke, out splitting Jankovics 37.16 to 38.96, but the two flipped positions at the 300 turn as Jankovics negative split the breaststroke, coming home in 36.30 as compared to Gagne’s 38.20. A result that gave a lead of 1.80 seconds.

From there, he put any other challenges to rest as he cruised home to touch in 4:22.26, close to four seconds ahead of Gagne’s 4:26.04. In the cross pool battle, Mason, from len 1 got the better of lane 8’s Harrison, grabbing 3rd in 4:28.42, to Harrison’s 4:28.90.

Para Women’s 150 I.M. – Prelims

Just two swimmers took to the water in the event as SM4 swimmer Jordan Tucker squared off against SM3 swimmer Aly Van Wyck-Smart. Tucker’s 3:43.42, less than half a second off her seed time, earned her 670 points, placing her ahead of her competitor’s 4:32.87, which earned 542 points.

Para Men’s 150 I.M. – Prelims

Riley Martin was the only entrant in the event and had to tackle the 150 Medley alone. However, the empty lanes may have provided a benefit as with clear water to the left and to the right, the SM4 athlete sliced an impressive 7.99 seconds off his seed as he stopped the clock in 3:21.96, collecting 625 points.

Para Women’s 200 I.M. – Prelims

Jamie Cosgriffe posted the fastest time of the morning in the 200 IM as the SM10 swimmer posted a time of 2:37.31, but the 943 points for the swim trail Mary Jibb’s 977 points as her SM9 swim of 2:40.35 was closer to the standard.

Para Men’s 200 I.M. – Prelims

Summer McIntosh has not been the only swimmer to break Canadian records. Tyson Jacob’s 3:33.80 in the SM5 classification beat his own record of 3:40.67, set earlier this year in March. His previous best was 3:40.67.

The top swim of the morning, points-wise, was Nicholas Bennett‘s 2:09.40, which earned him 1004 points. Bennett, the World record holder in the SM14 classification, was a little off his record of 2:05.97, but he will have another chance tonight to go after it.

Men’s 200 Backstroke – Prelims

• World Record: 1:51.92 – Aaron Peirsol, USA (2009)
• Canadian Record: 1:56.74 – Blake Tierney, (2024)
• 2024 Olympic Trials Champion: Blake Tierney – 1:56.74
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 1:58.07
• Canadian World Juniors Standard: 2:01.80

Top 8

1. Blake Tierney (GOLD) – 1:59.54
2. Cole Pratt (CASC) – 1:59.67
3. Francis Brennan (BBST) – 2:00.92
4. Ethan Ekk (UNCAN) – 2:00.99
5. Jaques Harrison (CREST) – 2:02.24
6. Benjamin Loewen (CREST) – 2:03.17
7. Loic Courville Fortin (CAMO) – 2:03.20
8. Aiden Norman (UCSC) – 2:04.63

Ethan Ekk opened up the circle-seeded heats of the 200 back with a 57.63 split, leading Benjamin Loewen and Jaques Harrison by just under and just over 2 seconds as the trio were the only three to open under a minute.

Ekk, who earned a nomination to Singapore in the 400 free via the 3rd priority (achieving the Swimming Canada secondary qualification) held on to win the heat in 2:00.99, placing ahead of Harrison, who likely booked his second final of the evening, as he passed Loewen to nab 2nd in 2:02.24.

Ekk, last summer at trials, tied for 3rd overall with Aiden Norman at 1:58.92, and Norman, the #2 seed this year, kicked off the penultimate heat opening his first 100 in 59.85. Norman didn’t have the lead at the turn as Francis Brennan flipped first at 59.11.

Brennan, the 8th seed overall who entered the meet with a seed time of 2:02.57, continued his fast start as he outsplit Norman by .70 on the 3rd 50 and only built upon that as he stopped the clock in 2:00.92, a drop of over 1.5 from his seed and overtaking Ekk atop the leaderboard. Norman remained in 2nd and stopped the clock in 2:04.63.

Cole Pratt, swimming out lane 5, adopted Brennan’s strategy in the final heat and took it to the top seed Blake Tierney as he flipped first in 58.01. While just .16 ahead of the Canadian national record holder, Pratt continued to just edge ahead, gaining .12 over the 3rd 50 to have an ever-so tenuous lead. Tierney picked up his tempo just a little in the middle of the 4th 50 to draw even with Pratt and used a strong finish to get the win and overall top time as he stopped the clock in 1:59.54, .13 ahead of Pratt’s 1:59.67, the only two swimmers to break 2:00 this morning.

Women’s 200 Backstroke – Prelims

• World Record: 2:03.14 – Kaylee McKeown, AUS (2023)
• Canadian Record: 2:05.42 – Kylie Masse, (2021)
• 2024 Olympic Trials Champion: Kylie Masse – 2:06.24
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 2:11.08
• Canadian World Juniors Standard: 2:15.74

Top 8

1. Madison Kryger (BROCK) – 2:11.42
2. Mabel Zavaros (MAC) – 2:11.46
3. Delia Lloyd (ESWIM) – 2:13.04
4. Ingrid Wilm (CASC) – 2:13.77
5. Florence Robitaille (ELITE) – 2:13.98
6. Shannon Meadway (USC) – 2:13.98
7. Bridget Burton (ISC) – 2:15.51
8. Lea Nugent (NN) – 2:16.00

The third overall seed, Madison Kryger, put herself into the prime position to qualify for Worlds in the women’s 200 back as she won heat 4, the first of the circle-seeded heats in 2:11.42, opening with a first 100 split of 1:03.08, the fastest in the field. Her time would hold on to the top of the leaderboard as the #2 seed Mabel Zavaros won the penultiate heat in 2:11.46.

Zavaros, tonight’s 2nd seed, also took on the 400 IM this morning, but that didn’t seem to show much as despite opening 2.08 seconds slower than Kryger, Zavaros (1:05.16) used a strong back half going 33.20 and 33.10 to win her heat.

Of the top eight to advance, interestingly, the slowest first 100 belonged to Ingrid Wilm. Wilm, who may be more known for her sprinting prowess, opened in 1:06.65 but blitzed the last 50, splitting 32.36 to touch in 2:13.77 to grab the 4th seed tonight.

Top seed Summer McIntosh did not swim the event despite not scratching it. Perhaps she made the decision based on how she felt after the 200 fly last night or this morning’s 400 IM, both of which occurred after the scratch deadline. Winning the last heat in her absence was the fourth seed Delia Lloyd, who recorded a time of 2:13.04 and, with Zavaros, will flank Kryger tonight.

With McIntosh’s no-show and Kylie Masse‘s absence, both spots to Singapore are up for grabs, but the 2:11.08 A cut time looms large as no swimmer in the A-final tonight was under that time last summer at Trials, and McIntosh was seeded under that mark, although Zavaros was .10 off and Krgyer not far back at .30 away.