Oleksiak Hits Fastest 100 Fly Since 2018 On Day 2 Of Winter Ontario Champs

2020 WINTER ONTARIO SWIMMING CHAMPS

• March 5-8, 2020
• Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, Scarborough, Ontario
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Live Stream

Four-time Olympic medalist Penny Oleksiak was in action on Day 2 of the 2020 Winter Ontario Swimming Championships in Scarborough, racing only the prelims of the women’s 100 butterfly.

Oleksiak, 19, finished in a time of 58.30 in the morning, marking her fastest swim since the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The 2016 Olympic 100 fly silver medalist, Oleksiak missed the Canadian World Championship team in this event last April when she placed third at the Trials in 58.61. Coincidentally, the time Rebecca Smith went to take second (behind Maggie MacNeil) and qualify for the team was 58.30.

The time slots Oleksiak into 16th in the world rankings. With her absent in the final, Toronto Swim Club teammate Kylie Masse won the event in 59.78, half a second off her PB set in January (59.27).

One of the standout swims from the finals session came in the women’s 200 free, where Rebecca Smith used a strong last 50 to pull away from Taylor Ruck and post a time of 1:57.81. Smith’s performance puts her 11th in the world this season, and falls less than a tenth off her best time set in June of 2018 on the Mare Nostrum Tour (1:57.72).

Ruck (1:59.44) took second, while Kayla Sanchez clocked 1:58.35 in the prelims before scratching the final.

OTHER EVENTS

• Cascade’s Cole Pratt doubled up on the men’s side, winning the 200 free (1:50.89) and 100 fly (54.72). His 200 free was just .05 off his best time. Joshua Liendo (53.50) and Mack Darragh (54.65) were both faster in the prelims of the 100 fly, but scratched finals.
• Kenna Smallegange of BAD won the women’s 1500 in 16:54.54, dropping 10 seconds off her best time.
• Nepean Kanata’s Megan Wheeler topped the women’s 400 IM in 4:56.51, lowering her previous best of 4:58.36.
• Hochan Ryu of J Dolphins won the men’s 400 IM in 4:28.12, seven-tenths off his PB.