Five standouts from the 2024 Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Swimming Trials
49 athletes were named to Team Canada on Sunday ahead of Paris 2024.
The best swimmers in Canada descended on the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre last week, looking to qualify for the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, France.
A total of 857 athletes from 151 swim clubs across Canada took part in the trials, according to Swimming Canada, some of whom were also looking to make Team Canada for the Junior Pan Pacific Championships and Open Water Junior World Championships. A number of Canadian records were set in Toronto, as well as a couple of world records, at what is widely considered to be the best and fastest pool in the country.
Many swimmers grabbed headlines last week, but here are five in particular that stood out.
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Nicholas Bennett
Nicholas Bennett has already built up an impressive resume over the past few years that includes gold medals at the world championships, Parapan American Games and Commonwealth Games — and looks bound to add a Paralympic title to his collection this summer.
Bennett, 20, set a world record in the men’s 200m individual medley in the SM14 classification, finishing in 2:05.97, more than a second and a half faster than the previous record.
Winning several events throughout the week, he will look to continue that great form heading into the Paralympics this summer.
Josh Liendo
Another great week in his home pool saw Josh Liendo set a pair of Canadian records and firmly plant himself among the best sprinters in the world leading into the Olympics this summer.
On Saturday night, Liendo set a new Canadian record in the men’s 50m freestyle, winning in a time of 21.48 seconds. That time would have been good enough for an Olympic silver medal in Tokyo three years ago.
The 21-year-old followed that standout performance with an outstanding 100m butterfly race on Sunday night, taking the gold medal in a time of 50.06 seconds. That time saw him narrowly miss becoming just the fifth man ever to finish in under 50 seconds.
Liendo earned the award for the best men’s Olympic program performance of the meet for his 100m butterfly race, and will be the leader of a rapidly-improving Canadian men’s team in Paris this summer.
Summer McIntosh
What more can be said about Summer McIntosh? She is not only the star of the Canadian swimming program, but is expected to be one of the stars of Paris 2024 as a whole.
The 17-year-old Torontonian has been on a steady upwards trajectory since making her Olympic debut three years ago, and over the past week looked close to her absolute best.
McIntosh set a new world record in one of her signature events, the 400m individual medley, on Thursday, and swept the gold medals in every event she competed in. On Sunday night she picked up the award for the best performance by a woman in the Olympic program for her 400m IM world record, to the surprise of nobody.
She wasn’t fully satisfied with her week, however, mentioning in a post-race interview one night that she thought she could go even faster. It’s that mindset that will make her a force to be reckoned with in Paris, and likely for many years to come.
“I try not to focus too much on how fast I go compared to others,” McIntosh said on Saturday. “When it comes to the Olympic Games, everyone’s going to give that much more, so it’s just important to focus on how I increase the pace.”
Katarina Roxon
After qualifying for Paris 2024 in the 100m breaststroke on Tuesday, Katarina Roxon is set to go to her fifth Paralympic Games this summer — a swimming record for a Canadian woman.
The 31-year-old Newfoundlander was a gold medallist in the 100m breaststroke at Rio 2016, and also won a bronze medal in Tokyo three years ago in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
“Honestly, it’s really exciting,” Roxon said in a press release about qualifying to go to Paris. “I’ve had a very up-and-down last little bit since before Tokyo, so it’s really good to finally get to say I’m nominated to the team for Paris.
“It’s been great. It’s been a lot of fun, and through all the down moments, having this amazing high moment make it all worth it.”
Blake Tierney
After winning a bronze medal in the 100m backstroke at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, Blake Tierney came into the Canadian Olympic trials as the favourite in the event. It ended up being part of an excellent week for the 22-year-old.
Tierney won the 100m event to qualify for Paris 2024, and followed that up with an outstanding performance in the 200m as well. He shaved nearly two-and-a-half seconds off his two-year-old personal best to win the gold medal and qualify for a second individual Olympic event. His time of 1:56.74 was also a new Canadian record, breaking Markus Thormeyer’s previous best of 1:56.96 set in 2019.
The Saskatoon native is now off to his first Olympic Games this summer, where he be one of several athletes trying to win Canada’s first men’s swimming Olympic medal since London 2012.
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