Canadian Olympic Trials: Summer McIntosh Rallies Past Penny Oleksiak to Win 200 Free

Summer McIntosh; Photo Courtesy: Michael P. Hall/Swimming Canada

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.”

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)

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