May 27, 2024
An exciting 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Trials recently completed at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre. The competition served as the selection competition for the 2024 Paris Olympic, 2024 Paris Paralympics, 2024 World Junior Championships, and the 2024 World Junior Open Water Championships.
The competition saw world records, several national records and many provincial records broken in a competition.
BC based swimmers and swimmers representing BC programs making the team Olympic and Paralympic teams include:
2024 Olympic Games
Swimmers
Jeremy Bagshaw (ISC)
Emma O’Croinin (HPC – Vancouver).
Staff
Scott Talbot, Coach (HPC – Vancouver)
Support Staff
Jan Hanan, Team Manager (Vancouver)
Tom Vandebogaerde, Performance Scientist (HPC Vancouver)
Two additional swimmers who train full time in BC but represent out of province clubs also made the team Finlay Knox and Blake Tierney (both train at HPC Vancouver).
2024 Paralympic Games
Swimmers
Sebastian Massabie (PSW) Coach: Jy Lawrence
Fernando Lu (LOSC) Coach: Ryan Skomorowski
2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships
Canberra, Australia / August 12 – 26, 2024
Swimmers
Leilani Fack (LOSC) Coach: Brian Metcalfe
Julia Strojnowska (LOSC) Coach: Brian Metcalfe
Shima Taghavi (HYACK) Coach: Andrew Lennstrom
Tuja Dreyer (ISC) Coach: Lucien Zucchi
Aiden Kirk (KAJ) Coach: Marc Tremblay
World Aquatics Open Water Swimming Junior World Championships
Alghero, Italy / September 6-8, 2024
Swimmers
Julia Strojnowska (LOSC) Coach: Brian Metcalfe
Michelle Zeng (WVOSC) Coach: Janusz Kaczmarek
Aiden Kirk (KAJ) Coach: Marc Tremblay
Olivier Risk (UBCT) Coach: Derrick Schoof
The following pending records were broken by Swim BC swimmers at the competition:
World Record
Men’s Para S4 50 Fly Sebastian Massibie, PSW (38.68)
Canadian Record
Men’s Para S4 50 Free Sebastian Massibie, PSW (38.48)
Men’s Para S4 100 Free Sebastian Massibie, PSW (1:23.88)
Men’s Para S4 200 Free Sebastian Massibie, PSW (3:07.00)
Men’s Para S4 50 Back Sebastian Massibie, PSW (53.74)
Women’s 11 – 12 100 Breast Shima Taghavi, HYACK (1:10.78)
Women’s 11 – 12 200 Breast Shima Taghavi, HYACK (2:32.60)
Men’s Para S4 50 Fly Sebastian Massibie, PSW (38.68)
Men’s Para SM4 150 IM Sebastian Massibie, PSW (3:00.34)
BC Record
Women’s 11 – 12 100 Breast Shima Taghavi, HYACK (1:10.78)
Women’s 11 – 12 200 Breast Shima Taghavi, HYACK (2:32.60)
Women’s 11 – 12 400 IM Shima Taghavi, HYACK (5:04.66)
Women’s 13 – 14 50 Free Kelly Choi, KAJ (25.86)
Women’s 15 – 17 50 Free Leilani Fack, LOSC (25.55)
Sebastian Massibie was recognized as the Para Swimmer of the meet for his world record breaking swim in the 50 Fly.
Additionally, Julia Strojnowski (Langley Olympian Swim Club) and Kelly Choi (Kelowna AquaJets) were honored with the $1500 Victor Davis Memorial Award during the competition.
More Information
Swim BC congratulates all swimmers and coaches competing and excelling at the Trials. We also pass along our profound thanks to all the supportive parents, clubs and officials who made the swimmers dreams of attending Trials a reality.
May 20, 2024
The 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Trials, Presented by Bell, at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre has concluded with outstanding performances across the 7-day competition.
In the Para 50m Freestyle, Danielle Dorris broke her own S7 Canadian record with a time of 33.40, while Mary Jibb also set a new S9 national standard. However, it was Aurelie Rivard who scored the most Para points in the S10 category with her time of 27.99.
Sebastian Massabie etched his name into the record books once again, setting a new S4 50 Freestyle Canadian record of 38.48 to claim victory. He had come agonizingly close to breaking the record in the preliminary heats earlier in the day, touching in 38.52 to just narrowly miss his previous best mark.
Penny Oleksiak crushed her lifetime best to win the event in 25.06, edging out Taylor Ruck (25.08). Neither Oleksiak nor Ruck achieved the Olympic ‘A’ cut of 24.70 for individual qualification. Two Swim BC age group records were broken in the event, Leilani Fack (Langley Olympians) in the 15 – 17 age group and Kelly Choi (Kelowna AquaJets) in the 13 – 14 age group.
Josh Liendo lowered his own Canadian record in the 100m Butterfly with a world-leading time of 50.06 in the final, dropping almost three-tenths from his preliminary swim of 50.33 earlier in the day. His new mark of 50.06 moves him up to #5 on the all-time world rankings. Ilya Kharun also qualified for the Olympics with his second-place 51.09, under his previous best.
Sydney Pickrem stunned with a blistering 36.29 breaststroke leg in the 200m Individual Medley, but Summer McIntosh rallied on the freestyle leg to win in 2:07.06, narrowly missing her own Canadian record. Pickrem qualified for her third Olympics with a lifetime best of 2:07.68. Canada showcased depth with four women under the ‘A’ cut, though Mary-Sophie Harvey and Ashley McMillan finished outside the top two.
In the Paralympic 200 Free events, Sebastian Massabie (Pacific Sea Wolves) continued his record-breaking run by setting a new S4 Canadian record of 3:07.00 in the 200m Freestyle preliminaries. Nicholas Bennett won the Para power point battle in the same event with 1:54.78 in the S14 category. Alisson Gobeil held off Jessica Tinney in the S5 200m Freestyle showdown.
Eric Brown defended his national title in the 1500m Freestyle with a winning time of 15:23.87, quicker than last year but slower than the previous Olympic Trials. After being passed by Timothe Barbeau in the 800m earlier, Brown regained the lead before the 1150m mark, with Barbeau taking second in 15:26.58. Olivier Risk and Sebastian Paulins also finished in the top four with times under 15:30.
A Finals
Men’s Para 50 Free GOLD Sebastian Massabie, PSW (38.08)
Men’s Para 50 Free 4th Fernando Lu, LOSC (25.05)
Women’s 50 Free 7th Leliani Fack, LOSC (25.55)
Men’s 100 Fly 7th Raben Dommann, HPC VAN (53.49)
Men’s 100 Fly 9th Bill Dongfang, ISC (53.78)
Women’s 200 IM 6th Danielle Hanus, RAPID / HPC VAN (2:13.61)
Men’s Para 200 Free SILVER Sebastian Massabie, PSW (3:07.00)
Junior Finals
Women’s 50 Free 2nd Kelly Choi, KAJ (25.86)
Men’s 100 Fly 5th Tristan Govier, HST (55.45)
Men’s 100 Fly 9th Tuja Dreyer, ISC (55.85)
Women’s 200 IM 7th Ashley Ko, LOSC (2:19.70)
Men’s 1500 Free 1st Aiden Kirk, KAJ (15:47.55)
Men’s 1500 Free 3rd Zach McLeod, WDSC (15:59.06)
May 19, 2024
It was a memorable night for BC-based swimmers on day 6 of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Trials, presented by Bell. Meet highlights and Swim BC results include:
Jaime Cosgriffe secured a spot in the Paralympic 100m backstroke with her 1:08.52 finish, while Shelby Newkirk (1:22.33) and Emma Van Dyk (1:11.36) also met the qualification standards in their respective para events.
Rising star Reid Maxwell, just 16 years old, continued his impressive performance by breaking his own Canadian S8 para record in the men’s 100m backstroke, clocking an outstanding 1:08.86.
Summer McIntosh further solidified her dominance, winning the 200m butterfly in a blistering 2:04.33, the fastest time in the world this year, and securing another Olympic berth.
In the men’s 200m individual medley, Finlay Knox (Vancouver High Performance Centre) shattered his own Canadian record with a remarkable 1:56.07 finish, qualifying for his first individual event in Paris and ranking 4th in the world this season.
Josh Liendo also etched his name in the record books, breaking his own Canadian record in the men’s 50m freestyle with a scorching 21.48, propelling him to 4th in the world rankings.
The women’s 800m freestyle saw a thrilling finish, with Julia Strojnowska (Langley Olympians) overtaking Emma Finlin in the final meters to claim the title in 8:38.36, while Julie Brousseau took third place in 8:41.03.
Swim BC swimmers results:
A Finals
Women’s 200 Fly 10th Leilani Fack, LOSC (2:16.39)
Men’s 200 IM 4th Collyn Gagne, LOSC (2:01.96)
Men’s 200 IM 7th Marcus Mak, ISC (2:03.68)
Men’s 200 IM 9th Justice Migneault, HPC VAN (2:04.75)
Men’s 200 IM 10th Raben Dommann, HPC VAN (2:06.65)
Women’s 800 Free GOLD Julia Strojnowska, LOSC (8:38.36)
Junior Finals
Women’s 200 Fly 1st Lily Zeng, VPSC (2:17.43)
Women’s 200 Fly 2nd Taryn Weatherhead, KISU (2:17.93)
Men’s 200 IM 1st Tuja Dreyer, ISC (2:05.28)
Men’s 200 IM 6th David Maibaum, RAPID (2:08.36)
Men’s 200 IM 7th Justin Jung, LOSC (2:08.50)
Men’s 200 IM 8th Aiden Kirk, KAJ (2:09.19)
Women’s 800 Free 1st Naomi Mynott, WDSC (9:02.31)
Women’s 800 Free 4th Maria Saldana Riebeling, CDSC (9:11.35)
Women’s 800 Free 7th Calli Saunders, SPART (9:18.07)
Women’s 800 Free 9th Kailyn Firth, PSW (9:24.81)
Women’s 800 Free 10th Hannah Rutten, KISU (9:23.75)
May 18, 2024
The 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Trials, Presented by Bell, at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre continued on Friday, May 17th as the meet entered day 5 of 7 days. The meet continues to add new records to the books and additional Olympic and Paralympic qualifiers.
In the Para 50m Backstroke event, national record holder Nikita Ens won the final in 1:11.60, while fellow S3 swimmer Aly Van Wyck-Smart finished a couple seconds behind in 1:13.64. Ens aims to break 1:10 again at the Paris Paralympics after placing 9th in Tokyo.
In the S4 50m backstroke event, Sebastian Massabie (Pacific Sea Wolves) set the Canadian record in the prelims with a 53.74, though he was slightly slower in the final at 55.32.
In the 100m Freestyle event, Canada’s most decorated Olympian Penny Oleksiak narrowly missed the Olympic ‘A’ cut by just .05 seconds with her victory in 53.66, but punched her ticket to her third Olympics on Canada’s 4×100 free relay thanks to her top-4 finish along with Mary-Sophie Harvey, Brooklyn Douthwright, and Taylor Ruck. Harvey dipped under 54 seconds for the first time.
Blake Tierney dropped more than two seconds to win the 200m Backstroke in 1:56.74, under both the Olympic ‘A’ cut and the Canadian record. Hugh McNeill (UBC) touched within a second of the ‘A’ cut in second, while Aiden Norman and Ethan Ekk tied for third.
In the 200m Breaststroke, Sydney Pickrem came from behind to edge out Kelsey Wog by just .01 seconds as both swimmers finished under the Olympic ‘A’ cut. Pickrem is headed to her third Olympics, while Wog will compete at her second.
Shima Taghavi broke her own 200m Breaststroke Canadian Record for the 11 – 12 women while swimming in the A Final at the meet.
Ilya Kharun qualified for his first Olympics by winning the 200m Butterfly in 1:54.41, ranking 3rd in the world this season. He aims to beat Leon Marchand and finish in the top 3 in Paris.
In the 200m IM Para events, Tess Routliffe crushed the Canadian SM7 record, while Danielle Dorris had a strong SM7 swim.
Nicholas Bennett also broke the Canadian and World records in the SM14 classification.
Swim BC results:
A Finals
Men’s Para 50 Back Gold Sebastian Massabie, PSW (55.32)
Women’s 100 Free 8th Danielle Hanus, RAPID/HPC VAN (55.44)
Men’s 200 Back SILVER Hugh McNeill, UBCT/LOSC (1:58.49)
Men’s 200 Back 5th Raben Dommann, HPC VAN (2:00.02)
Men’s 200 Back 9th Thomas Caruso, SPART/SFU (2:04.21)
Women’s 200 Breast 9th Shima Taghavi, HYACK (2:32.60)
Men’s 200 Fly 8th Bill Dongfang, ISC (2:00.60)
Men’s Para 200 IM 4th Fernando Lu, LOSC (2:20.30)
Junior Finals
Women’s 100 Free 6th Leilani Fack, LOSC (56.35)
Men’s 200 Back 7th Paul Orogo, LOSC (2:05.85)
Men’s 200 Back 8th David Maibaum, RAPID (2:07.19)
Women’s 200 Breast 2nd Danielle Barberie, NRST (2:33.58)
Women’s 200 Breast 6th Macey Larson, LOSC (2:37.47)
Men’s 200 Fly 1st Aiden Kirk, KAJ (2:02.61)
Men’s 200 Fly 2nd Tristan Govier, HST (2:03.33)
Men’s 200 Fly 4th Zachary McLeod, WDSC (2:04.27)
Men’s 200 Fly 7th Jihoon Bae, LOSC (2:06.25)
May 17, 2024
The 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Trials, Presented by Bell continued on Thursday, day four of the 7-day competition.
Summer McIntosh shattered her own world record in the women’s 400m individual medley, clocking an incredible 4:24.38. The 17-year-old phenomenon split 59.18 on fly, 1:07.12 on back, 1:17.13 on breast, and 1:00.95 on free, showing most improvement on her breaststroke leg.
Josh Liendo matched his lifetime best of 47.55 to win the men’s 100m freestyle, ranking him 3rd in the world this season. Yuri Kisil (48.19) and Finlay Knox (48.29) also finished under the Olympic ‘A’ cut, earning themselves Olympic nominations.
Kylie Masse punched her ticket to a 3rd Olympic Games by winning the women’s 200m backstroke in 2:06.24, well under the ‘A’ standard. Regan Rathwell qualified for her first Olympics with a personal best 2:09.38.
In Paralympic events, Aurelie Rivard accumulated the most points in the women’s 100m freestyle S10 with her 1:00.19 effort. Shelby Newkirk lowered the S6 Canadian record to 1:13.68 with her runner-up finish.
Sebastian Massabie narrowly missed his own S4 Canadian record of 1:24.85, touching in 1:25.07 in the men’s 100m freestyle Para event, making the Paralympic nomination time. Reid Maxwell set a new S8 Canadian mark of 1:00.23 to place second.
No one cracked the Olympic ‘A’ cut in the men’s 800m freestyle, but 18-year-old Timothe Barbeau won in an encouraging 8:00.61, dropping over 4 seconds off his previous best time.
In the morning swim of the 400 IM, HYACK swimmer Shima Taghavi broke the provincial 11 – 12 year record, swimming a 5:04.66.
A Finals
Women’s 200 Back 4th Bridget Burton, UBCT/ISC (2:12.14)
Men’s Para 100 Free Gold Sebastian Massabie, PSW (1:25.07)
Men’s Para 100 Free 5th Fernando Lu, LOSC (56.77)
Men’s 800 Free 3rd Aiden Kirk, KAJ (8:11.93)
Junior Finals
Women’s 400 IM 1st Naomi Mynott, WDSC (4:56.39)
Women’s 400 IM 2nd Ashley Ko, LOSC (4:57.61)
Women’s 400 IM 6th Ziyuh Liu, CDSC (5:04.61)
Men’s 100 Free 10th River He, RAPID (52.62)
Women’s 200 Back 6th Calli Saunders, SPART (2:18.72)
Men’s 800 Free 4th Zachary McLeod, WDSC (3:22.93)
Men’s 800 Free 9th Danny Park, LOSC (8:40.39)
