After six days of competition in Toronto at the 2016 Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Trials, Swimming Canada has finally announced the official list of nominees that they will present to the Canadian Olympic Committee in order to be approved to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
There have been plenty of ups and downs throughout the six days of competition, highlighting the cruel nature of sport, especially one that revolves around determining a victor by hundredths of a second.
Young swimmers paved the way this week for the next generation of Canadian swimming, one that shows plenty of promise to carry on the momentum after the Rio Olympics.
Penny Oleksiak broke out onto the international stage this week and will be swimming the most events out of every athlete on the Canadian roster at just 15-years-old. Oleksiak will be swimming the 100 fly, 200 free, 100 free, 4×100 freestyle relay, 4×100 medley relay, and 4×200 freestyle relay.
On the men’s side every single Olympic qualifier besides Ryan Cochrane will be headed to their first Olympic Games.
After two Canadian records by Oleksiak, a world junior record by Oleksiak, two Canadian records by Brittany MacLean, and a world junior record by Javier Acevedo, the Canadian team seems promising as the excitement at trials ends, and the preparation for the Rio Olympics begins.
THE CANADIAN ROSTER
*Note: a name in italics means first time Olympian
Men
- Javier Acevedo – 100 backstroke
- Ryan Cochrane – 400 freestyle, 1500 freestyle
- Ashton Baumann – 200 breaststroke
- Santo Condorelli – 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 4×100 freestyle relay
- Yuri Kisil – 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 4×100 freestyle relay
- Evan Van Moerkerke – 4×100 freestyle relay
- Markus Thormeyer – 4×100 freestyle relay
Women
- Brittany MacLean – 200 freestyle, 400 freestyle, 800 freestyle, 4×200 freestyle relay
- Penny Oleksiak – 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 4×100 freestyle relay, 4×200 freestyle relay, 4×100 medley relay
- Noemie Thomas – 100 butterfly, *(4×100 medley relay)
- Kylie Masse – 100 back, 4×100 medley relay
- Dominique Bouchard – 100 backstroke
- Sydney Pickrem – 200 IM, 400 IM
- Emily Overholt – 400 IM
- Kierra Smith – 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, 4×100 medley relay
- Rachel Nicol – 100 breaststroke
- Audrey Lacroix – 200 butterfly
- Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson – 200 IM
- Chantal Van Landeghem – 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 4×100 freestyle relay *(4×100 medley relay)
- Martha McCabe – 200 breaststroke
- Hilary Caldwell – 200 backstroke
- Michelle Williams – 50 freestyle, 4×100 freestyle relay
- Katerine Savard – 4×200 freestyle relay
- Kennedy Goss – 4×200 freestyle relay
- Sandrine Mainville – 4×100 freestyle relay
- Taylor Ruck – 4×200 freestyle relay
Coaching Staff
- High Performance Director John Atkinson
- Ben Titley
- Tom Johnson
- Steve Price
- Linda Keifer
- Ryan Mallette
- Kevin Thorburn
MEN’S RELAYS
It won’t be decided until May 31st whether or not Canada will be able to send a men’s 4x100m medley relay or a men’s 4x200m freestyle relay.
Currently Canada’s 4x200m freestyle relay is ranked 16th overall and in a position to qualify for the Olympic Games pending that nobody betters that time. If they do qualify then both Jeremy Bagshaw and Stefan Milosevic will grab an Olympic berth. The following four will represent the 4×200 freestyle relay if it qualifies:
Men’s 4×200 freestyle relay
- Markus Thormeyer
- Jeremy Bagshaw
- Yuri Kisil
- Stefan Milosevic
Canada’s 4x100m medley relay is in a great position to qualify for Rio after a 3:34.55 tonight. Javier Acevedo, Santo Condorelli, and Yuri Kisil all made the team already meaning that Jason Block’s hopes of going to Rio relay solely on Olympic qualification.
Men’s 4×100 medley relay
- Javier Acevedo
- Jason Block
- Santo Condorelli
- Yuri Kisil
AWARDS
FEMALE SWIM OF THE MEET AWARD – PENNY OLEKSIAK
For her 56.99 Canadian record in the 100m butterfly that earned her a spot on her first Olympic team, Penny Oleksiak was given the female swim of the meet award.
Oleksiak’s time ranks her fourth in the world this season and sets her up to be one of the top butterfly prospects heading into Rio.
MALE SWIM OF THE MEET AWARD – SANTO CONDORELLI
Condorelli’s 48.16 100m freestyle gave him the male swim of the meet award. While it was a bit slower than the 48.09 he swam in prelims, it qualified him for his first Olympic team where he’ll be chasing his dream of winning the gold medal.
After doing a little digging I’ve come to realise…..
John Atkinson has come to Canada to raise the standards of Canadian Swimming…..he’s written criteria and selected for all the national teams over the last three years (and there has been quite a few) this is the very first time a relay alternate has been selected.
Every year for the last three years after selection there are unanswered questions, lots of controversy, swimmers quitting, swimmers threatening to sue, swimmers representing the country apologising to those they unjustly displaced but I can’t find a relay alternate selection for any relays for any teams until now.
2016 Olympic Games 1 really alternate selection for 1 relay.
If nothing else he’s entertaining,… Read more »
I was definitely hoping for more out of Taylor Ruck…. I am happy for her on making the team as a relay alternate. However, it seems unfair that swim Canada only take Ruck, but no other swimmers for 4x 100 Free relay or 4x 100 Medley relay alternates.
Politic.
“On the men’s side every single Olympic qualifier besides Ryan Cochrane will be headed to their first Olympic Games.”
Congratulations to the nominated men…..all 7 of them vs. 19 women – most of whom will be swimming multiple events.
What’s wrong with the Men’s program in Canada, or what’s wrong with the selection process? We have been “growing the men’s program for years” endless growth leading somewhere I guess?
Thoughts / theories … RE: the Canadian men’s program
1) On paper, it can’ t be the selection process as both men and women use the FINA-A standard (i.e., top 16-20 in the world, based on a 2 per country limit). Is men’s swimming more internationally competitive /diverse than women’s swimming? I’m not sure, but if it was, the men’s FINA-A standard could be tougher than the women’s FINA-A standard.
2) Men’s swimming has to compete with all the professional sports (i.e., hockey, basketball, baseball, football, soccer, etc.) that dominate the media to attract athletes …. with no women sports receiving appreciable media attention, swimming competes on an equal footing to attract female athletes.
3) Canada has a progressive attitude… Read more »
In my opinion the A cuts for men are way more competitive. For example for 2016 there are 25 men who have the A cut in the 50 free. There are 40 women.
20 women have the 200 fly cut, 14 men do (4 of which are from Japan).
27 women for the 100 fly, 13 men.
27 women 100 breast, 18 men.
At this rate, there will be no need for semis at the Olympics as there won’t be enough swimmers to fill 3 heats!
Mainly bc Swim Canada has been providing incentive and promoting a “rebuild” with support going to younger swimmers, which isn’t a bad vision or policy by itself, but it does have consequences and pushes out older swimmers (who need the support more than younger swimmers still living at home I would argue). Also younger girls reach their peak earlier (on average) than guys who physically peak later. The median age of all individual male medalists at the 2012 London Olympic Games was 25 for example.
here are two articles on this issue:
(Apr 2016) https://www.facebook.com/notes/rob-kent/how-swim-canada-is-killing-mens-swimming/10207057410566677
(Sept 2014) https://matthewswanston25.com/2014/09/04/dear-swimming-canada-figure-it-out/
I couldn’t agree more than with the above comments. Men do peak later and the need to have a little support in their 20’s is well known. The current system of carding (re: payments) really caters to age group swimmers and that benefits females more than males. Between the harder A cuts for men plus the lack of real funding for those just coming to peak age, it’s no wonder there are only 9 men on the team. Atkinson should have allowed the B standard for the event winner — just to allow those who proved themselves by swimming well in prelims and then standing out in finals to show what they are made of at the Olympics. Namely I’m… Read more »
I’m a bit confused. Why are there 5 women listed for the 4X200 free relay and only 3 each for the 400 free relay and 400 medley relay? Seems they may have been looking for a way to get Taylor Ruck on the team?
I believe it’s because Chantal Van Landeghem is qualified for 4×100 (but this is currently omitted in the list), and Penny Oleksiak won both the 100 fly and 100 free. Presumably one of the 2nd place finishers (Noemie Thomas and Chantal VL) would swim in the medley as the 4th swimmer. It seems like they did want to get Taylor on the team, though, since they assigned a 5th swimmer to the 4×200.
I believe she has dual citizenship and John Atkinson personally recruited her to ensure she swim for Canada.
He is using his position to put her on the team while other possible alternates are being disregarded.
This is not a clear and fair selection see my comment above.
Forgotten Swimmer . . .
Ruck does not have dual citizenship. I thought you conspiracy guys were usually a little more on point with your research . . .
Unfortunately, I am unable to verify or deny Mr Atkinson’s back-room dealings with 15 year olds.
JSWIM……
I’m not a conspiracy guy.
I’m for a fair, honest and transparent selection criteria and selection process.
I’m interested in athletes rights being honoured 100%.
I’m aware swimmers train thousands and thousands of hours for a chance to be selected to represent their country and when I see something that maybe in question I feel its okay to ask those questions.
I guarantee there are swimmers in this case who have trained thousands of hours for these trials who feel that this selection
may need to be questioned.
I miss the up arrow button so much after comments like this. Thanks jswim for taking a turn making fun of this guy.
With Oleksiak – Van Landeghem – Williams/Mainvile – Ruck, Canada has pretty good chance to medal (bronze or silver) in 4×100 free, upsetting either the Netherlands or USA.
Congrats to Taylor Ruck on the team spot! Surprised to see Canada go with her over girls who went faster at the meet (Ruck was 55.77; Alexia Zevnik (5th in the 100 free) was a 54.53). Is it possible she made it in on the 400 free, and not on the 4×100 free relay?
I have the same question and curious to know the reason behind the decision. I heard of Ruck’s name a lot and she is obviously talented. Just in terms of her 100 free result at trial, the decision seems odd.
I believe she was nominated based off her 5th place finish in the 200 free…
I believe she was nominated based off her 5th place finish in the 200 free for a relay alternate spot
How does it work as far as athletes on the team swimming additional events that have open spots? I’m thinking Santo C. in the 100 fly (since no one is currently qualified) or maybe Emily Overholt or Taylor Ruck in the 400 free. Is this something that the team would announce ahead of time?
No additional events for those swimmers, need to be under A standard to make team
Ruck’s nomination appears to be under Section VI of the Swimming Canada nomination rules: Discretionary Nomination due to injury or illness.
The CBC live stream commentators (Byron Macdonald) said that Ruck was suffering from illness … swam a strong 400m free (a PB, just outside the FINA-A standard) but that killed her energy and, although she swam valiantly, she had nothing left for the rest of her races.
Having swam FINA-A times at eligible meets (i.e., FINA World Juniors last year) Ruck was eligible for consideration as a discretionary nominee.
A current luxury of Canadian swimming is that this discretionary nomination to the relays doesn’t take away anybody else’s spot (i.e., there are no other 100m-200m free swimmers… Read more »
Bill G….
If she was chosen under Section VI of the Swimming Canada nomination rules: Discretionary Nomination due to injury or illness,
why is she only listed as a relay alternate?
Wouldn’t she be listed as a 400 Free competitor??
And that’s a shame she had nothing left after the 400 Free, maybe she should have scratched other races since 400 Free was day one. Those are the breaks in an Olympic trials situation.
Alternates for relays aren’t chosen because of their time, they are chosen in case of illness or injury within the top 4 relay qualifiers. Or in the case of the US they are chosen to give rest to the relay participants who… Read more »
Forgotten Swimmer . . .
I’ve noted this in response to one of your previous comments to another article, but Ruck was nominated as the alternate 5th member of the 200m relay team after placing 5th in that event while meeting the qualifying time. The 5th place finisher in the 100m relay did not meet the qualifying time. Again, in terms of selection process consistency, this seems relatively straight-forward to me.
The questions of whether there should be a single alternate nomination, multiple alternate nominations, or none at all are separate issues. When considered in isolation, Ruck’s nomination as the sole female alternate is valid and has nothing to do with these larger questions that precede her nomination.… Read more »
JSWIM……
I’m sorry if I came off as being hard on Taylor. I have not seen an official report on her having an injury. I was not aware of an injury. If there is one, that is something else altogether and she would be probably listed as a 400 Free competitor instead of what appears to be a relay alternate.
This nomination was not a choice of her’s.
Also, JA has sole discretion to choose a number of swimmers to enhance relays.
This choice is not based on any qualifying times so her time is not an issue in this discussion.
He could choose more alternates if he feels alternates are necessary. That’s not in question.
If… Read more »
Forgotten Swimmer
… Ruck doesn’t have a FINA-A time in the 400m free, to my understanding. Her 400m swim was a PB and outside the FINA-A time.
A FINA-A time at an approved meet was required to being considered for a Discretionary Nomination. (Plus evidence, from a Dr., confirmed by a Swim Canada Dr., that the swimmer was ill or injured). (Based on my read of the rules).
Canada’s selection procedure only had the top 4 in the 100m-200m free going to Rio for relays. Of course, Canada could sub in swimmers already on the team in other events to swim relay prelims, if necessary (e.g., Overholt for Oleksiak in the 4x200m free or Savard for Oleksiak in the… Read more »
RE: men’s 4x200m free relay and 4×100 medley relay
Is the nomination of Block for the medley and Milosevic/Bagshaw for the 4x200m free relay if Canada earns an Olympic berth confirmed? That wasn’t my read of the Swimming Canada standard to nominate a team.
Or – if Canada gets relay slots for Rio – would Canada just enter squads using the nine swimmers nominated today? (As opposed to add extra relay-only swimmers).
Van Landeghem also qualified in the 50 freestyle and the 4×100 freestyle relay. I’m not so sure that Canada will decide to swim the 4×200 mens free relay if they qualify, so no guarantee that Bagshaw and Milosevic will be named to the team.