Summer McIntosh swims the backstroke leg as she aims to win the women's 200-meter IM at the Canadian Olympic Swimming Championships in Toronto on May 19.Frank Gunn/Canadian Press
Canada is currently swimming at the bottom of the talent pool when it comes to the Olympics.
Canada Swimming will finalize its squad for the Paris Summer Games on Sunday, fielding arguably the strongest team the country has assembled for the Olympics.
“Thanks to the success of our athletes, we are truly in a golden era for Swimming Canada,” said John Atkinson, Swimming Canada's high performance director who took over the program in 2013.
“This is definitely the deepest team I've ever been a part of.”
Led by a dominant performance from podium favorite Summer McIntosh at this week's Olympic Trials, the women's team also includes a group of past 2 players including Maggie McNeil, Kylie Masse, Penny Oleksiak, Sydney Pickrem and Taylor Luck. There are many athletes who won medals at the previous Olympics.
We also have a men's roster built around strong performances from Josh Liendo, Finlay Knox, Javier Acevedo, Youri Kysil, Ilya Khan, and Blake Tierney, who we believe is ready to break out. I'm heading to Paris.
“We've seen women do it year after year,” Knox said. “For us, it's just, they're not doing anything that we're not doing, so why can't we be too?”
There are also swimmers who rose to the level before Paris, such as Mary-Sophie Harvey and Sophie Angus. They and other athletes could take on the burden of relay events, easing the burden on medal hopefuls like McIntosh, who can swim five events and factor in multiple relays.
The team also includes debutants Julie Boursaux, Ella Jansen and Lorne Wigginton, all 18 years old, who are experiencing the Olympics for the first time, just as Mackintosh did in Tokyo. It will lay the foundation for future Olympic Games. 3 years ago.
Of the 29 swimmers competing in the Olympics (including 17 women and 12 men), McIntosh is the youngest at 17 years old and has garnered the most attention around the world for a series of eyebrow-raising performances. He is a player who is
Canadian swimming's sudden resurgence began in 2016 with the emergence of Oleksiak, Masse and others as swimmers capable of competing and winning against the world's best. Their success helped change the culture of the program.
Women's athletes won six medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics, more than at any previous summer games, and six more at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Since then, McIntosh, who made her Tokyo debut at the age of 14 and narrowly missed out on the podium as a member of Canada's 4x200m freestyle relay team, has continued to solidify her place as one of the best swimmers of all time. In the world.
On the men's side, Knox said the men's side is eager to start building on the momentum created by the women's side.
He said he was inspired by women's programs, including the success of McIntosh.
“The women are performing even better than before. Summer has won multiple individual world championships and world records, so we always have something to strive for,” Knox said.
“It's really cool to be a part of history.”
Knox won gold in the 200m individual medley at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha in February. It was her first world title for a man since 2007. This week, he improved on that race, setting a Canadian record of 1:56.07.
Teammate Riendo, who won silver in the 100m butterfly at last year's world championships, also set multiple Canadian records this week and has emerged as a serious threat for the podium in Paris.
“Josh was the first one to really make breakthroughs and show that it was possible. It’s like he mentored me,” Knox said.
McIntosh had a great week at the Olympic Trials. On Sunday, she won the 200-meter medley in 2:07.06, qualifying for her fifth individual event. Pickrem placed second with a time of 2:07.68, qualifying her for Paris.
What followed was a string of great races for McIntosh, including Saturday's 200-meter butterfly, where she ran the fastest time in the world this season, finishing in 2:04.33. On Thursday, she broke her own world record in the 400-meter medley.
“I'm really excited to be going to Paris,” McIntosh said. “It's going to be a great meeting, not just for me, but for the whole Canadian team.”
However, there is still uncertainty surrounding the roster. Oleksiak, Canada's most decorated Olympian with seven medals in the past two Summer Games, will still try to qualify for the individual events while battling knee and shoulder injuries. It is said that
A top-four finish in the 100-meter freestyle earlier this week secured her a spot in the relay in Paris, and while she was always going to be a key member of Canada's medal bid, Oleksiak was uncharacteristically unsuccessful in her attempts to qualify for the individual race.
The top two finishers in each event this week qualified for the individual events in Paris, provided they met the Olympic qualifying times.
On Sunday, Oleksiak won the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 25.06 seconds, falling short of the Olympic qualifying time of 24.70 seconds. Luck took second place with a time of 25.08 seconds.
The race marked the third time this week that Oleksiak missed an Olympic qualifying time as he looks to improve his performance and recover from injuries, including knee surgery four months ago.
She placed ninth in the 200m freestyle earlier in the week, but bounced back to win the 100m freestyle a few days later, running her best time in years. However, Oleksiak missed out on qualifying for the Olympics by just 0.05 seconds.
However, she still has a way to go to secure private entry to Paris. All swimmers must compete in Olympic qualifying times by June 23 to qualify.
To qualify, Oleksiak could compete in a sanctioned tournament next month, including the Mel Zajac Junior Invitational in Vancouver from June 21-23. But she's now going against her calendar.
“We'll see, but I'm still thinking about it,” Oleksiak said of what other events she might swim. “We're getting closer to that time. I'm just excited to have the opportunity to try it out. If I can get a great time, I'd love to go out and race and see what I can do.”
She also said she was happy to be part of the relay team and play a leadership role.
“Even if I don’t, if I can get stronger in the relay and win a medal in the relay, I’m looking forward to it too.”
