Russell Wood took down the previous Canadian record in the 50m backstroke at the Canadian Trials Thursday after solidifying his spot on the World Championships team in the 100 backstroke on day one.
Thursday, he went into the 50 backstroke final seeded first after going a 23.34 in prelims. That time just narrowly missed the national record held by Pascal Wollach. Wollach, a former Calgary swimmer just like Wood, swam that time at the 2009 World Championships in Rome.
Heading into finals, it was clear that Wood would have a shot at the record. He had a best time in the 100 backstroke yesterday with a 53.96, and proved that he’s swimming well.
At the touch Wood was a 25.13 to take two-tenths of a second off the record and take his second national title of the week.
On night three Wood took home a win in the 200m backstroke solidifying the sweep.
