Swimming Canada has announced a roster of 31 pool swimmers for the upcoming World Aquatics Championships. The pool swimming events at the meet in Fukuoka, Japan, will be held from July 23-30 in Fukuoka, Japan.
Among the athletes named to the roster are Penny Oleksiak, who opted out of the meet while continuing to work her way back from a knee injury, and Taylor Ruck, who skipped the meet to prioritize the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, with Trials coming shortly out of the NCAA Championships.
Both swimmers are crucial part of the Canadian relays that have become consistent medal contenders and winners since Rio 2016. With Rebecca Smith missing the national team for the first time since 2016, the addition of Ruck and Oleksiak to the roster becomes even more crucial for Swimming Canada’s relay success.
While athletes have been named to the roster, specific events have not yet been publicly assigned.
Athletes could be named to the roster if they met, or exceeded, the World Aquatics ‘A’ cuts in the final of Olympic events.
If no swimmer achieves the ‘A’ time standard, then the fastest-placed swimmer may be selected, provided they have reached the Swimming Canada secondary qualification. These secondary times are set 1% outside of the World Aquatics ‘A’ cuts.
Canada also leaves room for the High Performance Director to make discretionary selections to the roster, which is the pathway by which Ruck and Oleksiak were chosen.
The same discretion was used to select Ruslan Gaziev to the men’s roster, in spite of him scratching all of his races. He swam on all three men’s relays at last year’s World Championships, including the 400 free relay that finished 6th, about a second away from the podium. With Josh Liendo and Javier Acevedo swimming very well, the Canadians have a serious chance at a medal at this summer’s World Championships in that race.
Canadian swimmers won 11 medals (3 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze) at last year’s championships in Budapest, the country’s most ever, and broke five Canadian records. Canada ranked third in total medals and fourth in gold.
This year’s team consists of 14 men and 17 women. There are 21 swimmers (12 women, 9 men) returning from the Budapest squad while 10 swimmers (5 women, 5 men) will be making their world championships debut.
Katerine Savard, who trains with Club Aquatique Montreal, will be competing at her sixth world championships.
“I still have dreams,” said Savard, who has spent 14 years on Canadian national swim team. “I’m fortunate to still be of a calibre to compete with these girls.
“I’m proud to be at their level and to be part of several generations of swimmers.”
The roster includes some young standouts making their Canadian senior debuts, including Brayden Taivassalo, a University of Texas commit, and Ella Jansen.
Mabel Zavaros is also a positive story coming out of the meet. She qualified for a number of junior meets for Canada, and the 2018 Pan Pacs and Commonwealth Games, but has been quiet on the international radar since. After a great college season that saw her finish 4th at NCAAs in the 400 IM (and not swim her specialty the 200 fly), she entered the final day of competition on Sunday with three 3rd-place finishes at the meet, narrowly missing the team every time.
But on the final day of the meet, she won the 800 free in 8:38.17. While that wasn’t a FINA “A” cut, it was within 1% of the standard, which earned her a ticket to Fukuoka.
And of course it’s no surprise that the headliner is the 16-year-old Summer McIntosh, who broke two World Records and three additional World Junior Records at the meet.
Her coach at the Florida-based Sarasota Sharks Brent Arckey is being taken as part of the team staff as well. While Canada tends to stick with only Canadian-based coaches for their international teams, Arckey is on the roster as a “Personal Support Professional.”
The open water athletes will be selected at the 2023 Canadian Open Water Trials in Grand Cayman, April 15-16.
The teams for the Pan American Games, being held Oct. 20-Nov. 5 in Santiago, Chile, and the World Aquatic Junior Swimming Championships Nov. 4-9 in Netanya, Israel, will be named Thursday.
Canadian Roster – 2023 World Aquatics Championships (Pool Swimming)
| Name/NOM | Club | Coach/Entraineur | Hometown/Ville | Residence |
| MEN/HOMMES | ||||
| Acevedo, Javier | High Performance Centre – Ontario | Ryan Mallette | Toronto, ON | Scarborough, ON |
| Bagshaw, Jeremy | Island Swimming | John Szaranek | Victoria, BC | Limerick, Ireland |
| Brown, Eric | Pointe-Claire Swim Club | Anthony Nesty | Pointe-Claire, QC | Pointe-Claire, QC |
| Dergousoff, James | High Performance Centre – Vancouver | Scott Talbot | Christina Lake, BC | Vancouver, BC |
| Fullum-Huot, Edouard | Pointe-Claire Swim Club | Anthony Nesty | Montreal, QC | Montreal, QC |
| Gaziev, Ruslan | Etobicoke Swim Club | Brian Schrader | Moscow, Russia | Toronto, ON |
| Gagne, Collyn | Simon Fraser Aquatics | Liam Donnelly | Milton, ON | Burnaby, BC |
| Hussey, Patrick | Pointe-Claire Swim Club | Mark Gangloff | Montreal, QC | Montreal, QC |
| Kharun, Ilya | Sandpipers of Nevada | Ron Aitken | Montreal, QC | Las Vegas, NV |
| Knox, Finlay | High Performance Centre -Ontario | Ryan Mallette | Okotoks, AB | Toronto, ON |
| Liendo, Joshua | North York Aquatic Club | Anthony Nesty | Markham, ON | Gainesville, FL |
| McNeill, Hugh | University of British Columbia Thunderbirds | Derrick Schoof | Langley, BC | Vancouver, BC |
| Taivassalo, Brayden | High Performance Centre -Ontario | Ryan Mallette | Markham, ON | Markham, ON |
| Wigginton, Lorne | University of Calgary Swim Club | Carl Simonson | Calgary, AB | Calgary, AB |
| WOMEN | ||||
| Angus, Sophie | High Performance Centre – Ontario | Ryan Mallette | Weston, CT | Toronto, ON |
| Douthwright, Brooklyn | Club De Natation Bleu Et Or | Ryan Allen | Riverview, NB | Knoxville, Tenn. |
| Finlin, Emma | Edmonton Keyano Swim Club | Paul Birmingham | Edmonton, AB | Edmonton, AB |
| Henderson, Hanna | Etobicoke Swim Club | Robert Novak | Mississauga, ON | Mississauga, ON |
| Jansen, Ella | High Performance Centre – Ontario | Ryan Mallette | Burlington, ON | Burlington, ON |
| Mac Neil, Margaret | London Aquatic Club | Rick Bishop | London, ON | Baton Rouge, LA |
| Harvey, Mary-Sophie | Club Aquatique Montreal | Greg Arkhurst | Trois-Rivieres, QC | Montreal, QC |
| Masse, Kylie | Toronto Swim Club | Ben Titley | LaSalle, ON | Sant Cugat des Vallès, Spain |
| McIntosh, Summer | Sarasota Sharks | Brent Arckey | Toronto, ON | Sarasota, FL |
| O’Croinin, Emma | High Performance Centre – Vancouver | Scott Talbot | Edmonton, AB | Vancouver, BC |
| Oleksiak, Penelope | High Performance Centre – Ontario | Ryan Mallette | Toronto, ON | Toronto, ON |
| Pickrem, Sydney | Toronto Swim Club | Jason Calanog | Clearwater, FL | College Station, TX |
| Ruck, Taylor | Scarborough Swim Club | Greg Meehan | Kelowna, BC | Stanford, CA |
| Savard, Katerine | Club Aquatique Montreal | Greg Arkhurst | Pont-Rouge, QC | Montreal, QC |
| Wilm, Ingrid | Cascade Swim Club | Dave Johnson | Norwich, England | Calgary, AB |
| Wog, Kelsey | University of Manitoba Bisons | Vlastimil Cerny | Winnipeg, MB | Winnipeg, MB |
| Zavaros, Mabel | Markham Aquatic Club | Anthony Nesty | Burlington, ON | Burlington, ON |
| STAFF | ||||
| Name | Postion | |||
| Atkinson, John | Team Leader | |||
| McDonald, Iain | Asst Team Leader | |||
| Hanan, Jan | Team Manager | |||
| Mallette, Ryan | Head Coach | |||
| Arkhurst, Greg | Team Coach | |||
| Birmingham, Paul | Team Coach | |||
| Johnson, Dave | Team Coach | |||
| Kiefer, Linda | Team Coach | |||
| Talbot, Scott | Team Coach | |||
| Schoof, Derrick | Team Coach | |||
| Arckey, Brent | Personal Support Professional | |||
| Fuller, Johnny | Physical Performance | |||
| Castro, Ron | Massage Therapy | |||
| Maroney, Suzanne | Massage Therapy | |||
| Vandenbogaerde, Tom | Performance Scientist | |||
| Olson, Graham | Video Analysis | |||
| Keeler, Dr. Steve | Physician | |||
| White, Nathan | Media Attache |
Great choice to take Brent Ackrey for coaching staff n Summer. 1984 we took Paul Bergen in 1984. I believe he had numerous swimmers on that team. BP
Penny and Taylor were named over more deserving swimmers. You want to go to Worlds, attend trials. Cal me old and crabby, but honestly, there are many other swimmers who busted their butts all week that should be given the opportunity to represent Canada.
Only one female coach, and it’s Linda Kiefer. Not surprised.
Then there’s Brent Ackrey. Isn’t there a Canadian coach available? I can think of many. Obviously I’m grateful that SM is happy in Florida, but that’s just weird.
Privilege and entitlement still rule within Swimming Canada. Sad, really.
I can see where you’re coming from, but what is the goal: to reward swimmers for working hard or to win medals?
If it’s just about rewarding hard work, then sure, leave them off. But without Ruck and Oleksiak, Canada can say goodbye to 3-4 relay medals. Even though they didn’t attend trials, they are arguably the two most valuable female swimmers on the Canadian team after McIntosh and MacNeil.
Do you really want Ryan Mallette coaching Summer for 3 weeks…
There’s a good chance that Ruck and Oleksiak wind up choosing not to swim. And with Sanchez going to the Philippines and Rebecca Smith not making the team, it’s sort of hard to believe that this entire group will be absent from Japan.
I don’t understand why they are sending a men’s 4×200 free relay team. Since they are, why would they send a 31 year old guy over a younger guy who could use that experience and has a higher potential of actually improving his time. Bagshaw hasn’t improved in 8 years…
Bagshaw qualified second?
Relay qualification for the Olympics is on the line
Spoiler Alert: The men’s team aren’t qualifying.
So Carl Simonson, the “Assistant Head Coach” of UCSC according to their website, puts Lorne Wigginton on the team and has Aiden Norman, Paul Dardis, Nicholas Duncan, Jett Verjee, and Kamryn Cannings from his training group put up big swims and almost certainly qualify for the junior team.
Meanwhile Mike Blondal, their “Head Coach and Director of Swimming” manages to fumble spots on the team for Rebecca Smith, Rachel Nicol, Stephen Calkins, and Richie Stokes.
Must be a little awkward hey?
This is sort of an ecosystem that swimming has created for themselves. We live with the consequences.
Yikes. Dinos women also finished out of the top 3 at U Sports this season for the first time in almost a decade despite having Rebecca on the roster, not a great couple of months for that program.
True, though my impression of that meet was that the Dinos women didn’t majorly underperform, more so that McGill’s women swam very well.
The Olympics should not have a two swimmer limit. It allows for smaller countries to hand pick teams. There should be a top 32 in the world limit. Canada and other countries hand pick their team ignoring ranking and fitness to get a big relay swim while other countries such as USA and Austrailia can only take the people who actually qualify at trials.
I remember for Rio Britain took 7 swimmers for the 4×200 and to get around the relay only rules gave them individual swims they hadn’t earned. I think they declined to take the 200IM winner at trials and instead entered the 6th place finisher from trials as they had a better 200 Free.
Ah yes, USA and AUS – the unfairly marginalized countries of world swimming!
Nah, it’s fine as it is.
It’s not possible to give someone an individual swim they haven’t “earned”. In order to give someone an individual swim they must have hit at least the B cut in a swim (unless you’re a universality place in which you can’t enter a relay anyway).
If GB wants to stack their 200 free relay then why do you care? The team with the fastest top 4 are going to win in the end.
Also, I’m not even sure where this is coming from? Is this because Ruck and Oleksiak were selected? You might be more convincing if you explain what the actual problem is. I don’t see how getting rid of the two swimmer limit would actually solve the… Read more »
The US and AUS can change their selection procedures if they want. It’s open to them to add provisions that provide for discretionary selection for relays, etc. (e.g., in case of illness, injury, etc.). They choose not to so that’s on them.
Australia and the US can pick their teams however they want to. It is domestic policy, not global policy, that forces them to pick their teams the way that they do.
And besides, why would we object to a policy that evens the playing field between countries with 330 million in population and countries with 38 million in population? Do we think that makes the ‘product’ better? It might for us nerds who want to see the best swimmers at the biggest meet all the time, but I don’t think it does for the general public.
Imagine the salt if Summer won an Olympic final featuring seven other Americans!
How impactful has Coach Arckey been to Summer’s development? Too soon to tell? Is this a case of a coach just not getting in the way?
Enough that swim Canada saw value in bringing him along and summers been with him for several months in two or more stints of training. Definitely a meaningful duo at this point.
Of course they’re going to bring along the coach of their best swimmer. That’s just an absolute no brainer
Speaking of absolute no brainers.. 1968 Canadian pioneer “Multiple World Record Holder and Gold medal favorite Canada’s ‘Mighty Mouse’ Elaine Tanner was not allowed to bring her long time winning Coach Hall of Famer Howard Firby to her first ever Olympics….Result cost Canada and poor Elaine a shy 17 year old also a blind obedient teenage soldier the Gold Medal when political interference replaced Firby with a rookie coach who pushed her to change her record winning game plan.. Despite all this she still won three medals first Canadian women to win an Olympic Medal in swimming also first ever 3 in a single game . An Historic fact in the value of a winning Coach swimmer duo and keeping… Read more »
She was already a phenom well before she ever met him. I think people trying to give credit to her coach are being disingenuous.
No doubt he’s doing a good job, but there’s nothing to suggest she wouldn’t be doing just as well with someone else.
But the moment a swimmer does poorly, it’s always the coaches fault right?!
That’s how it goes.
I don’t know how you could see an athlete be the first person to ever set WRs in the 400 FR & IM in LC and your first instinct is to downplay the role of her coach. Look at her freestyle from Tokyo and the huge technical improvements she’s made. Arckey is clearly doing something seriously right.
100% agree with your take oxyswim.
Training with the Sharks under Brent Arckey has certainly had a positive effect on Summer. She has stated on recent interviews and podcasts that she loves everything about the program from her teammates to the coaches to in pool and dry land training all under the watchful eye and direction of Brent.
Hearing him speak last night about where Summer is now and where she is headed as they gear up for the Worlds was interesting. It sounded like there is a great deal of collaboration between the two which is not surprising in the least since Summer is known to be a real student of the sport and seems mature beyond… Read more »
Why risk not having them there? Obviously, she’s continuing to improve there in Florida.
Canada will be a major force in 4×200
This year? Who is their fourth leg and what kind of shape are Oleksiak and Ruck gonna be in?
Hopefully Ella Jansen continues to develop. She’s young so should continue to drop time. They also have Katerine Savard and Mary-Sophie Harvey.
What’s changed ??? They’ve clearly been one since the middle of the previous decade.
McIntosh now means that they now join AUS & USA in possessing a potential game changing leg; however they still have a question mark over their 4th swimmer and how many of their bigger guns they can rest in the heats.