2025 SPEEDO CANADIAN SWIMMING OPEN
- April 10-12, 2025
- Edmonton, AB, Canada
- Edmonton Kinsmen Sports Centre
- LCM (50m)
- Prelims 11:30am (ET) / Finals 7pm (ET)
- Event Page
- Live Results
- YouTube Livestream
- CBC Livestream
- Day 1 Recap
The 2025 Canadian Open continued in Edmonton on Friday evening with finals in five events for both men and women: the 50 backstroke, 50 butterfly, 200 breaststroke, 100 freestyle, and 800 freestyle.
After winning the 100 back on Thursday, Ingrid Wilm completed her sweep of the sprint backstroke events with a victory in the 50, clocking 28.18 to top the field by 0.72. The 26-year-old backstroke specialist has been as quick as 27.37 in her life, achieved during the 2023 Mare Nostrum series.
Wilm’s career highlights thus far include bronze in the 50 and 100 back at the 2024 World Championships in Doha, 6th place in the 100 back at the Paris Olympics, and another bronze in the same event at the Short Course World Championships in December.
In the men’s 50 back, a bit of a trading places scenario unfolded. 20-year-old CAMO swimmer Loic Courville Fortin took down Canadian backstroke star Blake Tierney, clocking a time of 25.78. Benjamin Winterborn secured 2nd place, while Tierney rounded out the top 3 with a 25.96. Fortin was just shy of his fastest-ever time of 25.66, set in May of 2023.
The results flipped from the night before in the 100 back, where Tierney took the win in 54.79, breaking the meet record twice. Winterborn and Fortin finished 4th and 5th, respectively.
Three-time Olympian Taylor Ruck upgraded her silver medal performance from the women’s 100 back on Thursday with a victory in the 100 free. She touched the wall in 55.16, edging out University of Tennessee swimmer Ella Jansen by 0.41 seconds. While Ruck has been as fast as 52.72 during her career—set at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships—her time marks an improvement over this point last year, when she swam a 55.38.
19-year-old Antoine Sauve, a Michigan commit who trains at CAMO, won the men’s 100 free in 49.59, narrowly missing his personal best of 49.47 from last May’s Canadian Olympic Trials. His victory comes on the heels of a standout performance on Thursday, when he broke the meet record in the 200 free with a time of 1:48.21.
Sauve’s training partner, two-time Olympian Mary-Sophie Harvey, also grabbed her 2nd win of the meet after winning the 200 free on Thursday. Her victory came in the 200 breast, where she posted a lifetime best of 2:25.14, narrowly surpassing her previous career best of 2:25.37 set nearly eight years ago.
17-year-old Oliver Dawson followed up his 50 breast win from Thursday with a victory in the longer 200, clocking 2:14.87. The Indiana commit was well off his personal best of 2:12.42, set last May.
Killarney Swim Club representative Matea Gigovic, just 16, broke the women’s 50 fly meet record twice on the day. She kicked things off by firing off a swift 26.96 marker in prelims before bagging gold in the final with a slightly faster result of 26.87.
The Tennessee commit has been as fast as 26.50 in her career, a time she posted at the Westmont Pro Swim Series stop in early March.
Ramac Aquatic Club’s Eric Ginzburg won the men’s 50 fly in 24.03, edging out his best time of 24.33 set during last year’s edition of this competition.
Kelowna Aquajets’ Aiden Kirk built on his success from Thursday—where he doubled up on victories in the 400 IM (4:30.83) and 1500 free (15:52.65)—by winning the 800 free in 8:11.54, narrowly dipping under his previous best of 8:11.93 from last June.
The 17-year-old is no stranger to the 800 free, having represented Team Canada on the international stage at last summer’s Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Canberra, Australia, where he placed 9th with a time of 8:13.36.
Tori Meklensek, who garnered gold in the 500-yard free at the NCAA Division II Championships for Simon Fraser University last month, won the women’s 800 with a time of 8:53.71, shaving over two seconds off her previous best of 8:56.09.
