2023 CANADIAN SWIMMING TRIALS
SATURDAY MORNING PRELIMS HEAT SHEET
The fifth day of the 2023 Canadian Swimming Trials will feature a short list of events. This morning’s prelims session only includes the 200 back and 400 IM, along with the para 150 IM and 200 IM.
At finals tonight, all eyes will be on 16-year-old superstar Summer McIntosh in the women’s 400 IM. McIntosh is currently the Canadian and World Junior Record holder with her personal best of 4:28.61. After breaking the World Record in the 400 free on the first day of these Trials, we’ll be looking to see if McIntosh can do so once again in what is arguably her best event.
On the other side of things, Ilya Kharun will be looking to win another title today after winning the men’s 200 fly last night. Kharun comes in as the fourth seed in the 400 IM, however, entering over six seconds off top-seeded Collyn Gagne. Importantly, Gagne is seeded at 4:17.82, which is just off the FINA ‘A’ cut of 4:17.48.
Backstroke star Kylie Masse is looking towards picking up another national title in the women’s 200 back today. The Canadian Record holder comes in as the top seed with a 2:07.66, making her the only swimmer in the field entered under 2:11. Notably, Ingrid Wilm, who won the 100 back over Masse earlier in the meet, is seeded second with a 2:11.61. Wilm is stronger in the sprint backstrokes than the 100, however, she comes in just off the FINA ‘A’ cut of 2:11.08, so look for her to hit that standard today.
WOMEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE – HEATS
- World Record: 2:03.14, Kaylee McKeown (Australia) – 2023
- Canadian Record: 2:05.42, Kylie Masse – 2021
- FINA ‘A’ Cut: 2:11.08
TOP 10 QUALIFERS:
- Kylie Masse – 2:08.68
- Ella Varga – 2:12.18
- Ingrid Wilm – 2:13.67
- Katie Schroeder – 2:15.71
- Jordan Greber – 2:16.29
- Delia Lloyd – 2:17.23
- Maddy Gatrall – 2:17.28
- Maya Bezanson – 2:17.32
- Madison Kryger – 2:17.41
- Aleksa Gold – 2:17.63
Unsurprisingly, Canadian Record holder Kylie Masse led prelims of the women’s 200 back by a comfortable margin this morning, speeding to a 2:08.68. Masse was smooth and in control this morning, splitting 29.60 on the first 50, then splitting 32.64, 33.68, and 32.76 on the remaining 50s. Masse’s Canadian Record stands at 2:05.42 from 2021.
Coming in second was Ella Varga, who had a big swim to take the second seed for tonight’s final. Varga clocked a 2:12.18, taking over two seconds off her seed time with the performance. She’s got her work cut out for her tonight, however, as she’ll simultaneously need to hold off 100 back champion Ingrid Wilm and hit the FINA ‘A’ cut of 2:11.08 if she wants to qualify for the World Champs team.
Wilm was 2:13.67 this morning, finishing third overall. After winning the 100 back in 58.80 on the first day of the meet, Wilm has some momentum heading into the 200 back today. The 200 back has historically been Wilm’s weakest of the three back events, as her personal best comes in at 2:11.61.
MEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE – HEATS
- World Record: 1:51.92, Aaron Peirsol (USA) – 2009
- Canadian Record: 1:56.96, Marcus Thormeyer – 2019
- FINA ‘A’ Cut: 1:58.07
TOP 10 QUALIFERS:
- Richie Stokes – 1:59.55
- Aiden Norman – 1:59.91
- Tristan Jankovics – 1:59.97
- Blake Tierney – 2:00.38
- Raben Dommann – 2:00.48
- Hugh McNeill – 2:02.19
- Loic Courville Fortin – 2:03.04
- Benjamin Lowewen – 2:03.56
- Marcus Mak – 2:05.94
- Parker Lenoce – 2:06.28
Top seed Richie Stokes led prelims this morning in the men’s 200 back, clocking a 1:59.55. He got out to a quick start, splitting 27.94 on the first 50, then split 30.16, 30.84, and 30.61 the rest of the way.
Stokes was one of three swimmers to dip under 2:00 this morning, along with teenagers Aiden Norman and Tristan Jankovics. Norman had a huge swim, blowing away his previous best of 2:01.26 to finish second overall with a 1:59.91. He was great very consistent in his race this morning, splitting 30.41, 30.24, and 30.41 respectively on the final three 50s. Of note, the 15-17 boys 200 back National Age Group Record is a 1:58.07 from Cole Pratt in 2019.
Jankovics also dipped under 2:00, coming in third with a 1:59.97. He shattered his seed time of 2:04.72 with the performance.
WOMEN’S 400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – HEATS
- World Record: 4:26.36, Katinka Hosszu (Hungary) – 2016
- Canadian Record: 4:28.61, Summer McIntosh – 2022
- FINA ‘A’ Cut: 4:43.06
TOP 10 QUALIFERS:
- Summer McIntosh – 4:40.69
- Sydney Pickrem – 4:44.58
- Mabel Zavaros – 4:45.77
- Ella Jansen – 4:47.74
- Bailey Andison – 4:48.22
- Emma Finlin – 4:48.81
- Kathryn Hazle – 4:49.24
- Tessa Cieplucha – 4:49.51
- Julie Brousseau – 4:49.83
- Bailey O’Regan – 4:52.35
Summer McIntosh might be the only swimmer in the world right now who can truly “cruise” to a 4:40 in the 400 IM, but that’s exactly what she did this morning. The 16-year-old superstar, who is also the Canadian and World Junior Record holder in the event, was out fairly quick on the front half of the race this morning, splitting 1:01.50 on fly and 1:10.51 on back, for a 2:12.01 on the opening 200. For context, McIntosh was 2:08.20 at the 200 when she swam her WJR of 4:28.61 this past December. This morning, she split 1:20.92, which is just off her split from December. She then came home in 1:07.76 on freestyle, which is a very relaxed split for McIntosh. Her split on her World Jr Record performance was a 1:01.15.
All that is to say that we can expect McIntosh will be much, much faster tonight than she swam this morning.
An interesting battle for second is shaping up as well. This morning, Sydney Pickrem, who finished second in the 200 IM a few days ago, clocked the second-fastest time with a 4:44.58. Like usual, she was particularly good on the breast leg this morning, splitting a field-leading 1:16.55.
Behind Pickrem was Mabel Zavaros, who swam a 4:45.77. Zavaros was out almost as fast as McIntosh, splitting 2:13.94 on the first 200. Ella Jansen was right there as well, splitting 2:14.92 on the first 200, then going on to clock the fourth-fastest time of the morning with a 4:47.74.
Of note, Tessa Cieplucha was the second seed coming into this morning, entering with a time of 4:39.49. She came in eighth this morning, swimming a 4:49.51.
It ought to be a battle behind McIntosh tonight, as the FINA ‘A’ cut sits at 4:43.06. Given the cut, we should see several swimmers under the mark, so the fight for second place is going to be a very important one.
MEN’S 400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – HEATS
- World Record: 4:03.84, Michael Phelps (USA) – 2008
- Canadian Record: 4:11.41, Brian Johns – 2008
- FINA ‘A’ Cut: 4:17.48
TOP 10 QUALIFERS:
- Lorne Wigginton – 4:19.47
- Eric Brown – 4:22.52
- Benjamin Cote – 4:24.59
- Ilya Kharun – 4:25.65
- Collyn Gagne – 4:25.82
- Jacob Gallant – 4:27.16
- Brodie Young – 4:30.14
- Jordi Vilchez – 4:30.61
- Sebastian Gonzalez Barboza – 4:31.72
- Timothy Barbeau – 4:34.30
Teenager Lorne Wigginton set the tone for the rest of the field this morning, speeding to a 4:19.47 to clock the top time of prelims by over three seconds. Wigginton set himself up well for tonight, as he’ll not only need to win the event, but dip under the FINA ‘A’ cut of 4:17.48 as well to qualify for the World Champs team in the event. His swim this morning was promising, as he got out to a quick start with a 2:04.86 on the first 200.
Another teen, Ilya Kharun, came in fourth this morning with a 4:25.65. Kharun, the 200 fly champion from last night, is likely to be a contender for the title tonight. He was out in 2:06.17 this morning, and we know he can be out much faster than that tonight.
Eric Brown took nearly seven seconds off his seed time of 4:29.14 to finish second this morning with a 4:22.52. He was strong coming home, splitting 58.36 on the final 100 of the race.
Top seed Collyn Gagne came in fifth this morning with a 4:25.82. Having been 4:17.82 in the event before, definitely keep your eye on Gagne tonight.
PARA WOMEN’S 150 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY MUILTI-CLASS
- Jordan Tucker – 3:46.52
- Niki Ens – 4:29.62
- Aly Van Wyck-Smart – 4:45.53
- Hannah Burns – 4:15.51
Jordan Tucker came out on top in the women’s 150 IM this morning, swimming a 3:46.52. Tucker’s time was the fastest in the field by a wide margin, but of course, the overall time isn’t the most important factor in para swimming. Para swimming is ranked on a points system, which takes into account the swimmer’s classification and how far off the World Record for that classification they were to calculate a point total, which is then used to rank the swimmers.
PARA MEN’S 150 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY MUILTI-CLASS
PARA WOMEN’S 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY MUILTI-CLASS
- Tess Routliffe – 3:09.19
- Danielle Dorris – 3:11.01
- Katie Cosgriffe – 2:40.52
- Katarina Roxon – 2:50.11
- Angela Marina – 2:39.17
- Emma Van Dyk – 2:40.11
- Mary Jibb – 2:49.22
- Justine Morrier – 2:48.78
- Dee Kisser – 3:54.02
- Myriam Soliman – 3:54.33
- Alisson Gobeil – 4:36.67
- Tatiana Nault – 3:32.46
- Clemence Pare – 4:52.35
Tess Routliffe led the way in the women’s para 200 IM this morning, swimming a 3:09.19. Though that time was 4.57 seconds off her seed, she still ended up on top of the rankings. Danielle Dorris was right behind, swimming a 3:11.01. Routliffe and Dorris are notably in the same classification.
PARA MEN’S 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY MUILTI-CLASS
- Nicholas Bennett – 2:10.63
- Zach Zona – 2:45.17
- Connor Bissett – 2:29.93
- Hunter Helberg – 2:40.54
- Caleb Arndt – 2:34.65
- Felix Thomas Cowan – 2:47.99
- Tyson Jacob – 4:14.36
Nicholas Bennett both clocked the fastest time of the morning in the men’s para 200 IM and led in points. Bennett was a touch off his seed time of 2:09.61.
Reid Maxwell was disqualified.
