Noemie Thomas Tracks Down Canadian Record on Night 1 of Canadian Trials
VICTORIA, Canada, April 3. AFTER a morning that featured a pair of near misses in terms of Canadian records, the evening featured one hit as Noemie Thomas took down the Canadian record in the women's 50-meter fly at the Canadian World Championships Trials.
Thomas, after just missing the Canadian record in the women's 50-meter fly this morning with a 26.50, surged past the mark with a sizzling 26.35. Her performance cleared the 2011 record of 26.49 set by Katerine Savard, and pushed Thomas into the top 40 all time in the event. Sandrine Mainville placed second in the event with a 26.67, while Caroline Kuczynski touched third in 27.33.
Ryan Cochrane, he of the April Fools joke claiming he would switch to bobsledding for Team Canada, turned in a meet record in the men's 800-meter free. He clocked a winning time of 7:43.61 swimming by his lonesome. That time cut five seconds from his previous competition mark of 7:48.33 from 2009. Training partner Eric Hedlin took second in 7:59.64, while Craig Dagnall earned third in 8:15.06.
Kelly Aspinall hit the wall first in the men's 50-meter fly with a time of 23.80, nearly clipping Thomas Kindler's national record of 23.66 from this meet in 2009. Mike Smerek took second tonight in 24.20, while Henrik Pindau snagged third in 24.36.
Barbara Jardin pushed the pace against Samantha Cheverton in the women's 200-meter free after both went out at the 50-meter mark with 28.3s. Jardin came home with 29s in the final two 50 splits en route to a win in 1:58.25. Cheverton faded a bit with a second-place 1:58.80. Brittany MacLean also cleared 2:00 with a third-place 1:59.53. Savannah King picked up fourth in 2:00.34.
Blake Worsley followed up with a 1:48.80 to clinch the men's 200-meter free. Alec Page raced to second in 1:49.36, while the Abdel-Khalik brothers battled for third and fourth with the younger Aly, 18, besting the 21-year-old Hassaan, 1:49.59 to 1:49.84. Hassaan is fresh off helping Michigan to its first NCAA title since 1995, and its 12th overall.
Sinead Russell, back in Canada after competing for the Florida Gators this season, topped the women's 100-meter backstroke with a time of 1:00.12. This after racing to a near-national record time of 59.98 in prelims. She owns the Canadian mark with a time of 59.68 from 2011. She also just missed the meet record of 59.85 set by Julia Wilkinson last year. Kristin Steins touched second in the finale with a 1:00.85, while Brooklyn Snodgrass wound up third in 1:00.98.
Charles Francis topped the men's 100-meter back with a time of 55.34 after leading qualifying with a 55.19 in prelims. Russell Wood claimed second in 55.50, while Matt Swanston finished third overall in 55.67.
Audrey Lacroix, nearing her 30s at 29 years of age, rocked the women's 200-meter fly with a near meet record time of 2:07.89. That swim fell just off her 2009 standard of 2:07.86 from the techsuit era. Katerine Savard, who had her 50 fly national mark fall earlier in the evening, placed second in 2:08.34. Brenna Maclean clinched third in 2:11.47.
Zack Chetrat held close to David Sharpe in the men's 200-meter fly through the first 150 meters (1:27.41 to 1:27.43), before turning on the jets down the stretch with a 30.60 final 50 to win in 1:58.01. Sharpe, meanwhile, turned in a second-place time of 1:58.55 after clocking a 31.12 in the final 50. Alec Page wrapped up the top three in 1:59.58.
Tabitha Baumann closed out the night with a winning 16:34.29 in the women's 1500-meter freestyle event. Sophia Saroukian touched second in 17:02.50, while Olivia Anderson earned third in 17:08.12.