Canadian Olympic Trials: Summer McIntosh Rallies Past Penny Oleksiak to Win 200 Free
It seems odd to characterize Penny Oleksiak as the old guard. She is, after all, less than a week past her 21st birthday.
But there’s no doubt that Summer McIntosh is part of the next wave. And when those waves collided at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre Sunday, it was McIntosh that surged ahead.
The 14-year-old is officially an Olympian, turning in an outstanding final 100 meters to beat Oleksiak to the wall and get under the FINA A Cut in 1:56.19 to book a trip to Tokyo at Canadian Olympic Trials.
“Honestly, it doesn’t really feel real at all yet,” McIntosh said. “It all felt like a blur. It hasn’t sunk in, that’s for sure.”
McIntosh was fourth at the 100-meter wall, but she closed with the fastest third 50 (30.01) and the fastest final 50 (29.43) in the field. She was more than a second ahead of Oleksiak, who was under the A cut in 1:57.24, .17 slower than in the morning.
Oleksiak had been pre-selected to swim the event in Tokyo.
“I think this morning was a lot better than tonight,” said Oleksiak, the reigning Olympic co-champ in the 100 free. “We haven’t really got to do much prelims-finals racing, so it was weird for me with my preparation for tonight, trying to figure out the schedule, get a nap in, I was hungry before my race. It was kind of all over the place. I wasn’t as prepared for the final as I wanted to be, but I think it’s a learning lesson for Tuesday.”
- Live Results
- Day 1 prelims: Joshua Liendo Kicks off Canadian Olympic Trials with National Record in 100 Fly
- Day 1 finals: Canadian Olympic Trials: Katerine Savard Books Third Olympic Trip in 100 Fly
- Day 1 finals: Canadian Olympic Trials: Kylie Masse Makes Statement with 57.70 100 Back
- Day 2 prelims: Canadian Olympic Trials: Penny Oleksiak, Kelsey Wog Earn Top Seeds
The 200 free is one of several potential swims in Tokyo for McIntosh. She is slated to swim the 800 free on Monday, where she’s hunting an A cut. (Her best time is a B cut of 8:46.15, 12 seconds off the A standard.) She has the A cut in the 1,600, which will be contested Wednesday with McIntosh as the top seed in 16:15.19. And she has an A cut in the 400 free, which she didn’t swim Saturday and will likely be selected to swim via Swimming Canada’s hybrid model.
McIntosh ranks 10th in the world in the 400 free. Her time Sunday is tied with Charlotte Bonnet for 11th in the world.
Both swimmers train together at the Ontario High Performance Centre, which led to shared joy Sunday.
“I love Summer,” Oleksiak said. “I hate training with Summer. She does not die. She’s 14 so she doesn’t get a lot of lactic acid, so every time I train with her, I know she has the gas on and it’s all gas, no brakes for her and it’s super fun.
“I was saying this morning how it’s funny that my biggest competition is the smallest person in the pool right now, and it’s frustrating because I know going into races that she’s just going to go, go, go. But it’s always motivating and inspiring. I love her work ethic. She’s really strong in and out of the pool mentally, and I love her.”
“She’s so nice,” McIntosh said. “When I first came to the Centre, all the Centre swimmers were so welcoming. She’s just been so awesome and motivating and it’s such an incredible opportunity that I can swim with her every day.”
Third in the race was Rebecca Smith. Both her and Katerine Savard are under 1:58, which bodes well for the Canadians’ relay chances.
Event 7 Women 200 LC Meter Freestyle
==================================================================
CANADIAN: N 1:54.44 2018-08-09Taylor Ruck, SCAR
OLYMPIC A: A 1:57.28
Name Year Team Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Oleksiak, Penelope 00 TSC 1:56.41 1:57.07A
r:+0.70 56.59 ( )
1:57.07 (1:00.48)
2 McIntosh, Summer 06 ESWIM 1:57.65 1:57.40
r:+0.79 27.47 57.22 (29.75)
1:27.12 (29.90) 1:57.40 (30.28)
3 Smith, Rebecca 00 SCAR 1:57.81 1:58.70
r:+0.76 27.40 57.52 (30.12)
1:28.12 (30.60) 1:58.70 (30.58)
4 Savard, Katerine 93 CAMO 1:59.74 1:58.71
r:+0.67 27.69 57.75 (30.06)
1:28.50 (30.75) 1:58.71 (30.21)
5 Harvey, Mary-Sophie 99 CAMO 2:00.94 1:58.94
r:+0.73 27.90 58.19 (30.29)
1:28.36 (30.17) 1:58.94 (30.58)
6 Douthwright, Brooklyn 03 CNBO 1:59.69 1:59.12
r:+0.68 27.81 57.40 (29.59)
1:27.77 (30.37) 1:59.12 (31.35)
7 Sanchez, Kayla 01 AAC 1:57.32 1:59.20
r:+0.72 27.27 56.98 (29.71)
1:27.91 (30.93) 1:59.20 (31.29)
8 Ackman, Alyson 93 PCSC 1:58.85 2:00.44
r:+0.61 27.65 57.72 (30.07)
1:29.00 (31.28) 2:00.44 (31.44)
9 Overholt, Emily 97 UBCT 1:57.26 2:00.53
r:+0.72 28.24 58.28 (30.04)
1:29.49 (31.21) 2:00.53 (31.04)
10 O'Croinin, Emma 03 EKSC 1:58.64 2:00.63
r:+0.75 28.52 59.02 (30.50)
1:29.88 (30.86) 2:00.63 (30.75)
Women’s 100 Breaststroke
After waiting five year, Kelsey Wog is officially an Olympian. The University of Manitoba grad went 1:06.77 Sunday to win the 100 breaststroke. It solidifies an A cut she already held.
“It’s super exciting,” Wog said. “I’ve been really going for it since last Olympic Trials when I just missed it, so it’s definitely been on my mind the whole time. It’s really exciting.”
Second in the race is Rachel Nicol in 1:07.31. Kierra Smith was third in 1:07.72. It’s a best time for Nicol. Smith holds an A cut of 1:06.54 entering the meet.
Fifth in the finals was Sydney Pickrem, who went 1:08.17. The 200 breaststroke specialist couldn’t bridge the .13-second gap to the Olympic A cut she had entering the meet.
Wog, who packs a punch in the back half of races, was out quickest in 31.24. She also turned in the fastest final 50 at 35.35.
“I think my race was a little bit less than what I could’ve done,” Wog said. “It felt a little bit tight, a little bit rushed, probably from nerves and excitement, but I’m still happy with it.”
Event 9 Women 100 LC Meter Breaststroke
==================================================================
CANADIAN: N 1:05.74 2009-07-09Annamay Pierse, UBCD
OLYMPIC A: A 1:07.07
Name Year Team Prelims Finals
==================================================================
=== A - Final ===
1 Wog, Kelsey 98 UM 1:06.92 1:06.77A
r:+0.64 31.42 1:06.77 (35.35)
2 Nicol, Rachel 93 LASC 1:07.73 1:07.31
r:+0.72 31.65 1:07.31 (35.66)
3 Smith, Kierra 94 KAJ 1:08.60 1:07.72
r:+0.78 32.27 1:07.72 (35.45)
4 Wiseman, Avery 02 OSC 1:07.86 1:08.08
r:+0.71 31.92 1:08.08 (36.16)
5 Pickrem, Sydney 97 TSC 1:08.30 1:08.17
r:+0.65 32.05 1:08.17 (36.12)
6 Kucheran, Nina 00 MAC 1:08.52 1:08.59
r:+0.66 32.15 1:08.59 (36.44)
7 Ivanov, Kathryn 03 LAC 1:09.99 1:09.58
r:+0.67 32.87 1:09.58 (36.71)
8 Herbert, Bailey 02 LOSC 1:09.88 1:10.37
r:+0.78 33.01 1:10.37 (37.36)
9 L'Archeveque, Alicia 04 UCSC 1:11.64 1:10.98
r:+0.69 32.97 1:10.98 (38.01)
10 Spencer, Madeline 03 TSC 1:12.16 1:12.14
r:+0.61 33.55 1:12.14 (38.59)
Men’s 200 Freestyle
Peter Brothers was a second quicker than prelims to earn his second win of the meet, clocking in at 1:49.07. Brothers won the 400 free Saturday night. Like the 400, his time is well off the Olympic A cut, in this case by 2.05 seconds.
Second was Ruslan Gaziev in 1:49.45. A tenth of a second back was Jeremy Bagshaw, who had been the top seed after prelims.
Event 8 Men 200 LC Meter Freestyle
==================================================================
CANADIAN: N 1:46.40 2008-08-10Brent Hayden, UBCD
OLYMPIC A: A 1:47.02
Name Year Team Prelims Finals
==================================================================
=== A - Final ===
1 Brothers, Peter 96 UCSC 1:50.08 1:49.07
r:+0.74 25.91 53.01 (27.10)
1:21.03 (28.02) 1:49.07 (28.04)
2 Gaziev, Ruslan 99 ESWIM 1:50.55 1:49.45
r:+0.72 25.37 52.95 (27.58)
1:21.36 (28.41) 1:49.45 (28.09)
3 Bagshaw, Jeremy 92 ISC 1:49.60 1:49.55
r:+0.73 25.96 53.54 (27.58)
1:21.50 (27.96) 1:49.55 (28.05)
4 Olafson, Carson 97 UBCT 1:50.56 1:50.28
r:+0.70 25.15 52.90 (27.75)
1:21.84 (28.94) 1:50.28 (28.44)
5 Axon, Alexander 03 MAC 1:51.07 1:50.95
r:+0.72 26.08 54.09 (28.01)
1:22.76 (28.67) 1:50.95 (28.19)
6 Godolphin, Bernard 99 NN 1:51.19 1:51.08
r:+0.61 25.73 53.57 (27.84)
1:22.25 (28.68) 1:51.08 (28.83)
7 Tierney, Blake 02 UBCT 1:52.01 1:52.07
r:+0.68 25.90 54.06 (28.16)
1:23.51 (29.45) 1:52.07 (28.56)
8 Murdock, Cale 97 WLBF 1:52.01 1:52.45
r:+0.74 26.06 54.04 (27.98)
1:23.02 (28.98) 1:52.45 (29.43)
9 Neri, Parker 99 UNCAN 1:52.22 1:52.67
r:+0.68 26.08 54.44 (28.36)
1:23.98 (29.54) 1:52.67 (28.69)
10 Palaschuk, Brian 98 UOFC 1:52.35 1:53.17
r:+0.64 25.78 54.24 (28.46)
1:24.03 (29.79) 1:53.17 (29.14)
Men’s 100 Breaststroke
Gabe Mastromatteo couldn’t match his speed from prelims, when he needed that speed and more to guarantee an Olympic spot. Still, the 19-year-old won the event, in 1:00.75, and the 1:00.11 from prelims is a high B cut, just off the A cut of 59.93.
Second in finals was James Dergousoff, who sped up to 1:00.88. Eli Wall bumped up a place to 1:00.99 while Richard Funk, the second seed in prelims, went 1:01.13 to drop to fourth.
Event 10 Men 100 LC Meter Breaststroke
==================================================================
CANADIAN: N 59.85 2012-07-28Scott Dickens, PDSA
OLYMPIC A: A 59.93
Name Year Team Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Mastromatteo, Gabe 02 KSS 1:00.69 1:00.11
r:+0.64 27.76 1:00.11 (32.35)
2 Funk, Richard 92 TSC 1:00.62 1:00.93
r:+0.63 28.24 1:00.93 (32.69)
3 Dergousoff, James 96 UL 1:02.00 1:00.94
r:+0.67 28.93 1:00.94 (32.01)
4 Wall, Eli 95 TSC 1:01.70 1:01.21
r:+0.72 28.78 1:01.21 (32.43)
5 Migneault, Justice 02 UBCT 1:03.60 1:01.73
r:+0.71 28.73 1:01.73 (33.00)
6 Hess, Apollo 02 UOFL 1:03.80 1:02.22
r:+0.66 28.72 1:02.22 (33.50)
7 Aylward, Graeme 00 MMST 1:03.21 1:02.30
r:+0.70 28.80 1:02.30 (33.50)
8 Kamminga, Frederik 98 EKSC 1:03.54 1:02.89
r:+0.72 29.03 1:02.89 (33.86)
9 Milanovic, Alexander 02 ESWIM 1:02.20 1:03.44
r:+0.76 29.09 1:03.44 (34.35)
10 Lisoway, Justin 00 CASC 1:04.82 1:03.52
r:+0.68 28.83 1:03.52 (34.69)
