2022 Canadian Trials: Day 6 Finals Live Recap

2022 CANADIAN SWIMMING TRIALS

• April 5th-April 10th, 2022
• Saanich Commonwealth Place, Victoria, BC
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• Live Stream
• Qualification Standards

DAY 6 FINALS HEAT SHEET

The final session of the 2022 Canadian Trials is here. Tonight, we have finals of the 200 breast, 50 free, and para 100 back. There will also be timed finals of the fastest heat of the women’s 800 free and men’s 1500 free.

The lineup for tonight is an exciting one. Both Kayla Sanchez and Josh Liendo were great in prelims of the 50 free this morning. Sanchez led the women’s 50 with a 24.82, leading the field by a huge margin. Liendo sped to a new personal best, swimming a 21.79, which sits just 0.06 seconds off the Canadian Record.

WOMEN’S PARA 100 BACKSTROKE – FINALS

PODIUM:

• Shelby Newkirk (LASER), SB5 – 1:20.76
• Danny Dorris (CNBQ), SB7 – 1:24.71
• Aurelie Rivard (CNQ), SB9 – 1:11.92

Shelby Newkirk to 1.17 seconds off her prelims performance to win the women’s para 100 back title. Reminder: para events aren’t ranked strictly by time, rather, there’s a point system that ranks the swims based off how close they are to the World Record in each swimmer’s respective class.

MEN’S PARA 100 BACKSTROKE – FINALS

PODIUM:

1. Alexander Elliot (CNQ), SB9 – 1:03.02
2. Tyson MacDonald (ROW), SB14 – 1:06.19
3. Felix Cowan (SAMAK), SB8 – 1:13.88

Alexander Elliot clocked posted both the fastest and the highest scoring time in the field, earning the title in the men’s para 100 back. Elliot took 1.21 seconds off his prelims swim with the performance.

WOMEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE – FINALS

• World Record – 2:18.95, Tatjana Schoenmaker, 2021
• Canadian Record – 2:20.12, Annamay Pierse, 2009
• FINA ‘A’ Standard – 2:25.91

PODIUM:

1. Kelsey Wog (UM) – 2:24.87
2. Rachel Nicol (UCSC) – 2:26.75
3. Tessa Cieplucha (MAC) – 2:26.84

After a fairly lackluster prelims swim, Kelsey Wog took control of this race from the start. Establishing a lead on the first 50, Wog would continue to grow her lead as the race progressed. She was incredible through the first 150 of the race, splitting 32.71, 36.79, and 37.05 on the first 3 50s respectively. She faded a bit down the stretch, however, coming home in 38.32. Nonetheless, the swim stands as a season best for Wog, and she came in well under the FINA ‘A’ cut, punching her ticket to Budapest this summer.

Rachel Nicol and Tessa Cieplucha also took time of their prelims performances, but unfortunately, neither hit the ‘A’ cut of 2:25.91. For Nicol, it marked her first personal best in the event in 6 years.

MEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE – FINALS

• World Record – 2:06.12, Anton Chupkov, 2019
• Canadian Record – 2:08.84, Mike Brown, 2008
• FINA ‘A’ Standard – 2:10.32

PODIUM:

1. James Dergousoff (UL) – 2:13.84
2. Finlay Knox (SCAR) – 2:13.96
3. Apollo Hess (UOFL) – 2:15.53

50 breast champion Apollo Hess got out to an early lead, swimming a smooth, powerful stroke on the first 50. Finlay Knox, the 200 IM champion, was just slightly behind Hess early on. At the 100, Hess and Knox were neck-and-neck, then Knox started to pull away on the 3rd 50. James Dergousoff swam a more conservative race, closing on Knox and Hess on the 3rd 50, then bursting into the lead early on the 4th 50.

Dergousoff would end up edging out Knox at the touch, swimming a 2:13.84, much faster than this morning. Everyone in the field was well off the FINA ‘A’ cut of 2:10.32, so it’s looking unlikely that Canada will have a swimmer in the men’s 200 breast at World Champs this summer.

Jonathan Sebastian Cook dominated the ‘B’ final, swimming a 2:17.55.

WOMEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – FINALS

• World Record – 23.67, Sarah Sjostrom, 2017
• Canadian Record – 24.26, Taylor Ruck, 2018
• FINA ‘A’ Standard – 25.04

PODIUM:

1. Kayla Sanchez (AAC) – 24.93
2. Hannah Cornish (USC) – 25.58
3. Roxane Lemieux (NN) – 25.70

Although she was 0.09 seconds slower than this morning, Kayla Sanchez still managed to pick up her 2nd title of the meet, swimming a 24.93. She was in a field of her own tonight, touching first by over half a second. As she was this morning, Sanchez was under the FINA ‘A’ standard of 25.04, guaranteeing her a spot in the event at World Championships this summer.

Hannah Cornish had a great swim for 2nd, taking 0.32 seconds off her prelims time.

MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – FINALS

• World Record – 20.91, Cesar Cielo, 2009
• Canadian Record – 21.73, Brent Hayden, 2009
• FINA ‘A’ Standard – 22.18

PODIUM:

1. Josh Liendo (NYAC) – 21.63 (CANADIAN RECORD)
2. Yuri Kisil (WS) – 22.17
3. Owen Guyn (LASC) – 22.61

He did it! Josh Liendo led the race wire-to-wire, storming to victory with a new Canadian Record of 21.63. The previous record was held by recently retired Canadian sprint legend Brent Hayden, who set the mark in 2009.

Additionally, Liendo’s swim marks the top time in the world this year.

It was a great event for Swimming Canada as a whole, since Yuri Kisil took 2nd in 22.17, dipping under the FINA ‘A’ standard by 0.01 seconds. That means Canada will have two men representing them in the 50 free at World Champs this summer.

On a different note, Josh Liendo must have had an issue with his cap, since he swam the race wearing one of Yuri Kisil‘s caps.

Artem Selin looked awesome in the ‘B’ final, tearing to a 22.66 to touch first by 0.82 seconds.

WOMEN’S 800 FREESTYLE – TIMED FINALS

• World Record – 8:04.79, Katie Ledecky, 2016
• Canadian Record – 8:20.02, Brittany MacLean, 2014
• FINA ‘A’ Standard – 8:37.90

PODIUM:

1. Katrina Bellio (ESWIM) – 8:38.90
2. Mabel Zavaros (MAC) – 8:42.16
3. Emma Finlin (EKSC) – 8:42.54

Pulling away from the field, Katrina Bellio picked up her first title of the meet. The time of 8:38.90 came in just off her entry time of 8:38.12, but was still good to win the race by well over 3 seconds. Bellio took the race out aggressively, splitting 4:14.87 on the first 400, just under 8:30 pace. Her splits floated up after the halfway point, however, and Bellio ended up just finishing exactly one second off the FINA ‘A’ cut of 8:37.90.

MEN’S 1500 FREESTYLE – TIMED FINALS

• World Record – 14:31.02, Sun Yang, 2012
• Canadian Record – 14:39.63, Ryan Cochrane, 2012
• FINA ‘A’ Standard – 15:04.64

PODIUM:

1. Eric Brown (PCSC) – 15:17.46
2. Alex Axon (MAC) – 15:31.93
3. Eric Hedlin (UVPCS) – 15:37.71

Erik Brown was dominant in the fastest heat tonight, roaring to victory with the top time of the day by 14.5 seconds. He swam a well-split race, going 5:00.73 on the first 500, 5:09.23 on the 2nd 500, and 5:07.50 on the last 500.