Etobicoke Breaks a National Record and Big Breakthroughs at Ontario Provincials

2023 Summer Ontario Swimming Championships

• July 6-9, 2023
• Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, Toronto, Canada
• Long Course Meters (50m), Prelims/Finals
• Meet Central
• Live Results

A pile of new Ontario Provincial Records and a new Canadian National Age Group Record fell last weekend at the 2023 Summer Ontario Swimming Championships.

The big record came in the women’s 200 medley relay, where the Etobicoke Swimming group of Delia Lloyd, Victoria Edgar, Victoria Raymond, and Maya Bezanson combined for a 1:55.27. That broke the old record of 1:55.98 that was set by another Etobicoke relay in 2009.

A storied club, that former Etobicoke group that included Amanda Reason, Heather MacLean, Brittany MacLean, and Tasha Truscott tore through the record books, breaking every 15-17 relay record on the books.

Splits for the old record setting relay not available.

The new record’s relay splits:

• Lloyd (16) – 28.65/back
• Edgar (15) – 32.68/breast
• Raymond (17) – 27.49/fly
• Bezanson (16) – 26.45/free

The record could have gone even further in an alternate universe: Etobicoke was the home club of World Champion Summer McIntosh, now 16, before she left to train in Toronto and eventually Florida.

Other Record-Setting Performances

Besides the relay record, a handful of other Ontario Provincial records fell as well.

In the men’s 200 free relay, a group from the RAMAC Aquatic Club in Toronto combined to set a new Ontario Provincial Record. The team of Eric Ginzburg (23.41), Yichi Zhang (23.26), Reid Tichy (23.29), and Dillon Fernando (22.88) combined for a time of 1:32.84. That time knocks half-a-second off the old record of 1:42.30 that was set by the Toronto Swim Club in 2018.

Individually, 14-year-old Madison Kryger from Brock Niagara Aquatics swam 1:02.21 in the 100 backstroke. hat knocked half-a-second off her best time from March’s Canadian Trials and breaks the old Provincial Record that was co-owned by Olympians Kayla Sanchez and Sinead Russell.

Taylor Ruck owns the National Age Group Record for 13-14s in 1:01.06, but Kryger is now 3rd behind only her and Jade Hannah (1:02.16).

Kryger came home as the runner-up for the girls’ 14-year-olds high point competition behind only Toronto Swim Club’s Leah Tigert.

The final Ontario Age Record came from another Etobicoke standout, 17-year-old Ella Jansen. She swam 4:40.65 in the 400 IM to become the fastest 17-year-old in Ontario’s history. That swim broke the record previously set by Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson in 2013.

The 15 year old and 16 year old records were already faster, though: Summer McIntosh swam 4:29.01 in 2022 while still training in Ontario, while Jansen swam 4:41.03 last year at 16.

Jansen’s new lifetime best comes the weekend before departing for Asia to compete as part of Swimming Canada’s team for the 2023 World Aquatics Championships.

Other Notable Performances:

• 17-year-old Julia Brousseau of the Nepean Kanata Barracudas had a number of breakout swims, but the big one was a 1:58.60 in the women’s 200 free. That was .45 seconds better than she swam at Trials in April and in total marks more than two seconds of improvement in the 2023 calendar year so far. She now ranks as the 9th-fastest Canadian 17-year-old in history, jumping ahead of Brittany MacLean. She also swam best times in the 100 free (55.75), 400 free (4:12.46), 800 free (8:50.16), and 400 IM (4:42.90).
• Another World Championship team member, Finlay Knox, swam at this meet, posting a 49.57 in the 100 meter free.
• 20-year-old Shona Branton, who swims for the Western Mustangs and London Aquatic Club, went 1:07.95 in the 100 breaststroke. That knocked almost a second off her time from the Canadian Trials where she placed 5th. A 1:07.95 at that meet would have ranked 2nd and given her a shot at a medley relay leg where that is currently Canada’s weakest headed toward the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Her London Aquatic Club teammate Amaris Peng also had a breakthrough – swimming 2:28.13 in the 200 breast. That was a more-than-two-second improvement for her, and a total of 4.7 seconds of drop in the 2023 calendar year.