29 swimmers named to Team Canada for Paris 2024 Olympics
The team was revealed on Sunday night at the conclusion of the national swim trials.
A star-studded group of swimmers were named to Team Canada for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Sunday night, after the conclusion of the Olympic & Paralympic Swimming Trials in Toronto.
Twenty-nine athletes were named to the team, based on their performances over the past week at the national trials. Swimmers needed to achieve the Olympic Qualifying Time in their respective events to be considered, and needed to finish in the top two of that event’s final.
Thirteen of the twenty-nine swimmers heading to Paris have previous Olympic experience, and six of them are Olympic medallists. Fifteen have won medals at the World Aquatics Championships, and thirteen won medals at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games in October.
The team is headlined by 17-year-old superstar Summer McIntosh, who is going to her second Olympics after being the youngest athlete on Team Canada at Tokyo 2020.
McIntosh is qualified in five individual events and is expected to take part in several relays as well. She is a favourite to take home several medals in Paris, after an Olympic cycle since Tokyo where she has been a dominant force on the international stage. This week during the Olympic trials, she lowered her own world record in the 400m individual medley to a time of 4:24.38 — two seconds faster than any other woman in the event.
"I'm pretty happy to be able to qualify in my top five events, so going into Paris I'm super excited," said McIntosh in a press release. "I think it's going to be an amazing meet, and not just for me but for all of Team Canada.”
Canada’s most decorated Olympian, Penny Oleksiak, is headed to her third Olympic Games, after an Olympic marred by injuries and uncertainty about whether or not she would be able to make the team after a knee surgery four months ago.
She quashed some of those concerns during trials, but narrowly missed the Olympic Qualifying Time in the 100m freestyle event that she won a gold medal in at Rio 2016. Devin Heroux of CBC Sports reported on Sunday night that Oleksiak is planning to attend a meet between now and the qualification window closing to try and reach the individual event in Paris as well.
Maggie Mac Neil, who won Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020 in the women’s 100m butterfly, will have the chance to defend her title in the event, joined by Mary-Sophie Harvey, who will compete in her first individual Olympic events after only taking part in relays in Tokyo.
Four-time Olympic medallist Kylie Masse is heading to her third Olympics at Paris 2024, qualifying in her signature 100m and 200m backstroke events. Ingrid Wilm, who will make her Olympic debut, will join her in the 100m event after winning a bronze medal in the event at the 2024 world championships.
“There’s a couple of us now that will have been on a couple of Olympic teams, so to be there with people that have done it before and to be there with fresh excited new faces is also a blessing,” said Masse in a press release. “I hope to just be there for everyone in whatever way I can support them and help their Olympic journey to achieve great performances.”
Canadian women won all 12 of the country’s Olympic swimming medals between Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, but the Canadian men are on the rise as well.
Josh Liendo won bronze medals in the men’s 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, and in 2023 turned that 100m butterfly bronze into silver. He set a new personal best in that event during this week’s trials, swimming to a time of 50.06, becoming the fifth-fastest man ever.
“Last time around in the Olympics, my goal was to try to get into the final, try to make a semi. Now, I’m obviously challenging to be in that final,” Liendo said in a press release. “Once you’re in the final, everyone’s going for a podium, so that’s kind of my mindset right now, I want to be at the top with the best guys.”
In February, Finlay Knox became the first Canadian man in 17 years to win a gold medal at the World Aquatics Championships, winning the 200m individual medley. Knox, Liendo, and Yuri Kisil were all part of a thrilling 100m freestyle race at the Olympic trials, giving them confidence that they can better their fourth-place finish in the 4x100m relay event from Tokyo 2020.
Jeremy Bagshaw, who missed the last two Olympic teams by narrow margins, will finally make his Olympic debut in 2024 at the age of 32. He has already announced that he will retire this summer to pursue his next career as a doctor, and making the team keeps his swimming career, and Olympic dream, going just a little bit longer.
Emma Finlin qualified for the Olympics based on her results in the women’s 10km marathon at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in February.
Finlin originally missed earning Canada the continental qualifying spot for the Americas, finishing 0.7 seconds behind her closest competitor from the Americas region, but has been awarded the unallocated spot intended for Oceania, which did not have enough competitors to fill its quota.
“I am very happy with the make-up of the Swimming Canada Olympic team, the Trials have been a great event and the outcome can be seen with the strength of the team announced,” said John Atkinson, High Performance Director of Swimming Canada, in a press release. “There have been world-class performances from many of our athletes across both male and female events, and that is extremely pleasing from the Trials.
“The team has quality at the world level in many events and now the focus for all our team members is to prepare for improvement and progression from Trials to Games and be ready for 9 days of competition in the pool in Paris.”
Canada has won 55 Olympic swimming medals, second only to athletics for most won by Canadians in a summer sport. The Paris 2024 races will take place from July 27 to August 4 at Paris La Défense Arena, while the women’s marathon will take place on August 8 at the Pont Alexandre III venue.
Full Olympic swimming team for Paris 2024:
Javier Acevedo (Toronto, Ont.)
Sophie Angus (Weston, USA)
Alex Axon (Newmarket, Ont.)
Jeremy Bagshaw (Victoria, B.C.)
Julie Brousseau (Ottawa, Ont.)
Brooklyn Douthwright (Riverview, N.B.)
Emma Finlin (Edmonton, Alta.)
Mary-Sophie Harvey (Trois-Rivieres, Que.)
Apollo Hess (Lethbridge, Alta.)
Patrick Hussey (Beaconsfield, Que.)
Tristan Jankovics (Puslinch, Ont.)
Ella Jansen (Burlington, Ont.)
Ilya Kharun (Montreal, Que.)
Yuri Kisil (Calgary, Alta.)
Finlay Knox (Okotoks, Alta.)
Josh Liendo (Toronto, Ont.)
Maggie Mac Neil (London, Ont.)
Kylie Masse (Lasalle, Ont.)
Summer McIntosh (Toronto, Ont.)
Emma O’Croinin (Edmonton, Alta.)
Penny Oleksiak (Toronto, Ont.)
Sydney Pickrem (Halifax, N.S.)
Regan Rathwell (Ashton, Ont.)
Taylor Ruck (Kelowna, B.C.)
Rebecca Smith (Red Deer, Alta.)
Blake Tierney (Saskatoon, Sask.)
Lorne Wigginton (Calgary, Alta.)
Ingrid Wilm (Calgary, Alta.)
Kelsey Wog (Winnipeg, Man.)
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