2023 Canadian Open Water Festival
- August 12-13, 2023
- Welland, Ontario
- Welland International Flatwater Center
- Open Water
- Meet Central
- Results
Hau-Li Fan and Laila Oravsky booked their tickets to the 2024 World Championships on Saturday, taking the next step on the road to qualifying for next summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
Competing at the inaugural Canadian Open Water Festival in Welland, Ontario, Fan and Oravsky won their respective 10 km events to advance to the 2024 Worlds in Doha, which will serve as the final open water qualifier for Paris 2024.
MEN’S RECAP
Fan, who will turn 26 next month, won the men’s event in a time of 2:01:37.0, topping Alexander Axon (2:01:46.1) by just over nine seconds.
Based out of the High Performance Centre – Vancouver, Fan recently took a break from training and thus did not vie for a spot on the 2023 World Championship team. He only returned to the pool three months ago, and despite the layoff, felt he was able to execute the race flawlessly.
“I felt great. I did exactly what I wanted to do and came first in that race so I’m very happy with the result,” Fan said, according to Swimming Canada. “I decided the best thing to do was to kind of stay in the pack and not lead the whole race and then make a move near the end. It worked exactly as planned.”
A Tokyo 2020 Olympian and 2022 Canadian World Championship team member, Fan expressed his excitement about getting the opportunity to wear the Canadian cap once again next year.
“It’s indescribable,” he said. “The feeling of representing your country is unlike anything. Competing for yourself sometimes is hard, but when you strive for something bigger, it makes it so much easier.”
High Performance Director John Atkinson spoke highly of the venue and lauded Fan for his performance.
“It’s great to be in Welland,” Atkinson said. “It’s a fantastic venue and they put on a really great organized event here for Swimming Canada.
“I think the athletes had a great experience here. Hau-Li Fan did a fantastic job coming back over the last number of months and now gets the opportunity to go to Doha.”
Axon, who competes for the Markham Aquatic Club, recently won the men’s 400 free (3:53.68), 800 free (8:06.57) and 1500 free (15:31.58) at the Canadian Swimming Championships in Toronto.
He clocked 2:10:46.1 to place second, while Club Aquatique Montreal’s Edouard Duffy was the top junior finisher by seven and a half minutes, placing third overall in 2:02:44.5.
Men’s 10 km Top 5 –
- Hau-Li Fan (HPCVN), 2:01.37.0
- Alexander Axon (MAC), 2:01:46.1
- Edouard Duffy (CAMO), 2:02:44.5
- Thomas Langlois (CAMO), 2:05:43.8
- Guillaume Lord (CAMO), 2:05:56.0
WOMEN’S RECAP
Oravsky, a 16-year-old out of the Barrie Trojans Swim Club, dominated the women’s event in a time of 2:10:57.6, more than two minutes clear of runner-up Lolly Milbaum (2:13:06.4), who out-touched Katie Marovino (2:13:06.6), Bailey O’Regan (2:13:06.8) and Maria Saldana Riebeling (2:13:06.9) in the race for second.
Oravsky’s performance, which also earned her the junior title, incredibly came in what was her first time racing open water.
“I’m very pleased. I was really excited to swim this. This is my first 10 km (and) my first time doing open water,” Oravsky said. “The water was pretty flat and pretty calm. There was a line I could follow, but learning to sight and coming up with a breathing pattern is something I can definitely work on in the future.”
Oravsky was the runner-up in the 1500 free at the Canadian Swimming Trials in March/April, which qualified her to represent Canada at the World Junior Championships next month in Israel and the Pan American Games in October in Chile. She’ll now get a chance to compete at the senior World Championships next February in Doha.
“I’m excited for Doha now and I can’t wait to do this in the future,” she said. “It’s a really good feeling and something I’ve wanted really badly and worked towards. I couldn’t be any more grateful.”
Atkinson noted the impressiveness of Oravsky take-charge race strategy despite it being her open water debut.
“From the women’s side, Laila Oravsky really got a hold of the race from the very beginning,” Atkinson said. “She went out and really led it all the way through, testament to her courage and determination to lead that out there in the way that she did, and books herself a ticket to Doha.”
Milbaum, the runner-up, is an American and thus raced as exhibition. She is a club teammate of O’Regan with the Sarasota Sharks, the same training hub as superstar Summer McIntosh.
Women’s 10 km Top 5 –
- Laila Oravsky (BTSC), 2:10:57.6
- Lolly Milbaum* (Sarasota Sharks), 2:13:06.4
- Bailey O’Regan (UNCAN), 2:13:06.8
- Maria Saldana Riebeling (CDSC), 2:13:06.9
- Sydney Shemilt (OAK), 2:15:07.2
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Fan and Oravsky will compete alongside Eric Hedlin and Emma Finlin on the Canadian open water team at the World Championships next year, with Hedlin and Finlin having earned their spots as the top Canadian finishers at this year’s Worlds in Fukuoka.
The top three finishers (men and women) from the 2023 World Championships have qualified for the 10km event in Paris, while the top 13 from the 2024 Worlds in Doha will also earn their spot at the Games.
The 2024 World Aquatics Championships are scheduled for February 2-18, 2024, in Doha, Qatar.
There were also several “mass participation” events on Sunday during the festival event in Welland, with various age groups contesting 3 km, 1.5 km and 750-meter events. You can find full results here.
no bellio at the last few open water and pool competitions?
Yes, Katrina is strangely absent from Canadian swimming landscape lately. She is scheduled though to represent Canada at Pan Am games this fall