Ilya Kharun Headlines Canadian Open Water Trials In Grand Cayman

2023 Canadian Open Water Trials

• Saturday, April 15 – Sunday, April 16, 2023
• Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
• Open Water
• Meet Central
• Entry List

After a four-year hiatus, the Canadian Open Water Swimming Trials are set to return this weekend in Grand Cayman.

The event was first hosted in 2019, serving as the qualifying competition for the World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, and was initially planned to run annually before the COVID pandemic caused the last three editions to be postponed and ultimately canceled.

Swimming Canada has turned to alternate procedures in the past to select their open water teams for major international events, but will return to Governors Beach on the Cayman Islands this weekend where athletes will earn their ticket to this summer’s World Championships in Fukuoka.

In the 10km event on Saturday, four qualifying spots (two men, two women) will be up for grabs on both the World Championship and Pan American Games team, while there will also be a 5km event contested on Sunday.

“We’re looking forward to seeing our best open water swimmers finally getting the opportunity to actually race each other in open water,” said Swimming Canada Distance/Open Water Coach Mark Perry. “It’s amazing that we can actually come down here and see these swimmers getting opportunities to go head-to-head.”

The most notable entrant on the men’s side is Ilya Kharun, the Sandpipers of Nevada product who has already qualified to represent Canada in the pool at the World Championships, having won the 200 fly and placed second in the 100 fly and 200 IM at the Trials in Toronto.

Kharun, 18, is no stranger to racing in open water events, having won the U.S. Junior National title in the 5km event in 2021 and then doing so in the 7.5 km event last year.

Like the majority of athletes, Kharun is entered in both the 5km and 10km events this weekend.

Eric Brown, who won the men’s 1500 free at the Canadian Trials and was named to the World Championship team in the pool, is also entered the men’s 10km, as is Eric Hedlin, a two-time World Championship medalist in the men’s 5km (2013, 2019).

Brown is the only member of last year’s open water World Championship team in the field this weekend for the men, with Alexander Axon and Hau-Li Fan both absent.

The women’s race will feature four of the top five finishers in the 1500 from Trials, with Emma Finlin, Laila Oravsky, Julia Strojnowska and Abby Dunford all in the field. Bailey O’Regan, who trains with Dunford (and Summer McIntosh) with the Sarasota Sharks, is also entered.

At the 2022 World Championships, Finlin placed 28th in the women’s 5km, while Dunford was 31st in that event and also placed 38th in the 10km. Katrina Bellio, the lone top-five finisher from the 1500 at Trials who won’t be competing, placed 34th in the 10km event last summer.

Liam Clawson-Honeyman, who has been finding success of late at the High Performance Centre in Vancouver and finished ninth in the men’s 1500 at Trials, is looking forward to utilizing some of the tactics that might not be available to athletes in the pool.

“The location seems great. It’s my first time here so I’m excited to swim fast,” said Clawson-Honeyman.

“In some ways, open water is more fun than pool swimming. You have a lot more of a chance to influence the outcome of the race. You’re not just in your own lane, you can use your tactics and better strategy to get ahead in the race.”

The event will begin at 7:20 a.m. local time (8:20 a.m. ET) each day. You can find more information here.