Ryan Cochrane threw down a personal challenge, a host of women made the Rio 2016 marks, and Ashton Baumann made it ‘legacy night’ at the Canadian Olympic & Para-swimming Trials on Wednesday.
Brittany MacLean led the way by setting a national record as Canada qualified a women’s 4 x 200-metre freestyle relay team for Rio. Minnesota Golden Gophers senior Kierra Smith, along with SMU Mustangs alumna Rachel Nicol, earned 100 breaststroke berths.
The 23-year-old became the third Canadian man to earn a Rio berth, joining Cochrane in 400 freestyle and teenager Javier Acevedo in 100 back.
“I honestly felt terrible [before the race], but I’m pretty happy with it,” said Baumann. “I’ve been out of the sport about two years due to injuries, and coming into these Trials I really struggled to maintain my nerve. I think if the 200 breast had been two days later, I would have been dead, because I haven’t been sleeping for the last three or four nights.”
Cochrane was a double medalist in the 400 and 1,500 at the world championships last August. The Victoria, B.C., native is bent on repeat the feat in Rio, and throwing off the yoke of missing the 400 final four years ago in London.
“I want to get two medals,” the two-time Olympic 1,500 medalist said after easily winning men’s 400 free in 3:48.54. “I put it out there; I want to talk about that. This race wasn’t the one I was looking for, but I know I put in an immense amount of work this year. We get to go back for three months and work on it and when we race at the Olympics, I’m sure I’ll get my hand on the wall.”
Cochrane’s race evinced the cutting nature of Swimming Canada opting to limit the Olympic team to athletes who make the FINA standard at Trials. Cochrane watched his club mates from Island Swimming Club, 19-year-old Peter Brothers and 23-year-old Jeremy Bagshaw, miss by fewer than one second at 3:51.26 and 3:51.29.
“I’m feeling split – I’m absolutely ecstatic to be making my third Olympic team, because that’s what I have dreamt about since I was five years old. It’s so hard watching your teammates miss it by hundredths of a second – it’s rough.
“It’s exciting to think we’re putting together a team that will make finals,” Cochrane added. “The top 16 times in the world is what the ‘A’ cut is based off. If we can send a team of 20 that will be top 16 in the world, I think we’re going to get a couple medals out of that.”
Brothers should have ample opportunity to qualify for Tokyo 2020.
Based on Tuesday’s results, some of those strong medal possibilities could come from the women’s relay, which finished fourth at London 2012. MacLean, the recently graduated Georgia Bulldogs all-American, prevailed in a record 1:56.94. Fifteen-year-old Penelope Oleksiak (1:57.59), Katerine Savard (1:58.17) and Kennedy Goss (1:58.26), will fill out the 4 x 200 team. Goss’ father, Sandy Goss, was a medley relay medalist at the ’84 and ’88 Olympics.
“I needed to swim my own race,” said MacLean, who was seventh in 200 free in London. “I knew it would be a strong field and I would have to swim a strong race. I am so proud of these ladies. I think we are going to be medal contenders this summer.”
Of the quartet that earned the relay nomination, Savard was the most emotional. She missed a Rio nomination in 100-m butterfly when she came third on Tuesday.
“I’m really happy,” Savard, 22, said. “I was so disappointed after my 100 fly, but today I just wanted to swim to see how fast I could go.”
Smith, who redshirted at Minnesota this winter in order to focus on qualifying for Rio, won women’s 100 breast in 1:56.93, with Nicol touching at 1:57.01 to also earn her trip to Rio. The pair bumped out 2012 Olympian Tera van Beilen, who finished third.
“My coaches just told myself to go in there and have as much fun as I could and that’s what I did tonight,” said Smith, 22, who hails from Kelowna, British Columbia.
Friday’s schedule includes finals in men’s 100 freestyle and women’s 200 butterfly, 200 IM and 800 freestyle.
