Canadian Press/Frank Gunn
The Bell Olympic and Paralympic Aquatics Championships are coming to a close, with two national records and three Olympic berths set Saturday night at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Center, and with one day of competition remaining, anticipation is high. It's increasing.
Summer McIntosh won again, taking gold in the 200m butterfly. McIntosh jumped out to the front and stopped the clock at 2 minutes, 4.33 seconds, staying within the Olympic qualifying time of 2 minutes, 08.43 seconds.
This is the fourth time the Toronto native has gone under his qualifying time at the trials.
Her dominance was visible throughout this week. On Monday, she earned her victory in the 400-meter freestyle, followed by a comfortable win in the 200-meter freestyle the following night. Not content with that, McIntosh broke her world record in the 400-meter individual medley on Thursday.
“It's very exciting. I only did the freestyle event last Olympics,” McIntosh said. “So we can get back to the events we love, which are more instant.” [and] Fly bass, like any style, is really fun just figuring out how to balance it all. ”
McIntosh won gold medals in both the 200 butterfly and 400 IM at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
Read: Olympic Swimming Trials: McIntosh's new world record
Two Canadian records were set in the men's events, resulting in two Olympic berths.
Finlay Knox took first place in the men's 200m individual medley final. Knox became the long-distance world champion in February, breaking his own record of 1 minute 56.64 seconds. He clocked a time of 1:56.07 on Sunday, qualifying him for his first individual berth in the 2024 Paris Games.
“Tonight was a big win. Winning the world championship was a big win. I used that as fuel for the fire and now I'm playing knowing what I'm capable of with every step I take.”
Joshua Liend followed quickly in the men's 50m freestyle final. Liendo set a new time of 21.48 seconds, beating the 21.61 he set in 2022. The 21-year-old was already under his Olympic qualifying time of 21.96 seconds with a time of 21.72 seconds in qualifying on Saturday.
This marks her second qualification to the Paris 2024 Games, following her success in the 100m freestyle earlier this week. He also plans to compete in the 100 butterfly, an event in which he won silver at the 2023 World Championships.
“I feel good. These are my main events,” Liendo said. “It feels great to be able to get up to speed and have things go my way, because I have to do really well before the Olympics come around.”
Read: Olympic Swimming Trials: Oleksiak books ticket to Paris, Tierney breaks national record
Julia Stroinowska won the women's 800m freestyle in 8:38.36. However, her Olympic qualifying time for this event was 8:26.71.
The Olympic and Paralympic Swimming Trials, presented by Bell, will run through Sunday at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Center. Qualifying heats begin each day at 9:30 a.m. ET, with final sessions beginning each night at 6 p.m. It all leads up to the official announcement of Team Canada's Paris 2024 swim team on Sunday night.
All competition sessions will be streamed live on CBC Sports digital platforms (CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca and the CBC Sports app). CBC TV also has nightly highlight shows.
