Emma Finlin Breaks Canadian Record in the 1500 SCM Free at JP Fiset Invitational

2023 JP Fiset Invitational

• December 14-17, 2023
• Kinsmen Sports Center, Edmonton, ALberta
• Short Course Meters (25 meters)
• Results on Meet Mobile: “2023 OSC JP Fiset Invitational”

While most Canadian eyes are on Toronto and the Ontario Junior Invitational this weekend, there is fast swimming going on 1,700 miles to the west in Edmonton as well, with a Canadian Record and a World Record both falling.

Emma Finlin of the Edmonton Keyano Swim Club broke the Canadian Record in the 1500 short course meters freestyle with a 15:58.93. That makes her the first Canadian woman under 16 minutes in the event, beating Savannah King’s 2009 record of 16:00.68.

Incidentally, Brittany MacLean’s long course record of 15:57.15 is still faster – covering the same distance, but with fewer advantageous turns, in less time.

Splits Comparison:

Finlin’s pacing illuminates the 5’5″/165cm tall teen’s specialty. A member of both the open water and pool teams at the 2023 Wrold Aquatics Championships, she doesn’t really have another gear to shift to late in the race, but she can afford to be aggressive through the mid-section of the race without harming the end of her race either.

Finlin previously verbally committed to the University of Kentucky, but no longer lists Kentucky in her social media profiles and has removed that post from her public profiles.

Finlin also won the 400 IM (4:44.42) and 200 breast (2:34.19) so far in the meet with the 200 fly left to come. Neither of those were best times.

At the 2023 World Championships, Finlin finished 30th in the women’s 10km event and was part of Canada’s 10th-place relay in open water.

She also finished 18th in the 800 free and 12th in the 1500 free inside the Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A.

Para-Swimming World Record

Meanwhile, para-swimmer Reid Maxwell broke a World Record in the S8 800m freestyle with a 9:36.95. That knocks about three seconds off the old World, and Canadian, Records of 9:39.48 set by Zach Zona in 2019.

That was one of a number of Canadian Records that fell at the hands of Maxwell at the meet. Formerly classified as an S9, now in the S8 category Maxwell is rewriting record books – and specifically removing the name Philippe Vachon from it on several occasions.

In fact, so far, Maxwell has broken the Canadian Record in every swim aside from the 400 free. Zona still holds that mark.

Maxwell’s other Canadian Records so far this weekend:

• Maxwell swam 2:07.75 in the 200 free, taking four-and-a-half seconds off Philippe Vachon’s Canadian Record of 2:12.34 from 2018.
• Maxwell’s 1:07.90 in the 100 back took more than three seconds off Vachon’s Canadian Record of 1:11.02 done in 2017.
• Maxwell knocked 13 seconds off the Canadian S8 Record in the 200 back with a 2:23.74. That record, again, belonged to Vachon, who swam 2:36.14 in 2017.