Maggie MacNeil (Minnesota Invitational)
At last summer’s World Championships, Maggie MacNeil pulled off a major shocker when she upset Sarah Sjostrom for the gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly. Since that point, nothing MacNeil does in the pool is stunning. On Friday night, during the third day of the Minnesota Invitational, the University of Michigan standout equaled the NCAA record in the 100-yard butterfly with a mark of 49.26.
A member of a talented Canadian arsenal on the women’s side, MacNeil has quickly established herself as a title contender for next summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo and has shown her prowess in both the long-course and short-course pools. By posting her second sub-50 performance of the season, MacNeil equaled the NCAA standard set by Southern California’s Louise Hansson (Sweden) at last year’s NCAA Championships.
MacNeil touched at the midway point in 23.27 and easily bested the competition as California’s Izzy Ivey was second in 51.46, more than two seconds back. Earlier in the season, MacNeil notched a mark of 49.57 during an intrasquad competition. A showdown with Hansson, who has a season best of 50.05, is looming for late March.
With MacNeil as a key cog, Canada looks ready to package a strong showing at the Tokyo Games. The Canadians also boast one of the world’s elite backstrokers in Kyle Masse, reigning Olympic champion Penny Oleksiak, rising star Kayla Sanchez, medley standout Sydney Pickrem and all-around threat Taylor Ruck.