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Canada’s Taylor Ruck earned her first major international medal outside of relays with Commonwealth Gold in the 200 free. Ruck swam side-by-side with Australian Emma McKeon for the first 150 meters, and then she exploded off the final wall. But Ruck had to work hard coming home to hold off Australian Ariarne Titmus, which she did by just four hundredths of a second.
Ruck finished in 1:54.81, crushing her own Canadian record and moving to seventh all-time in the event, tied with American Missy Franklin. Ruck beat her previous record of 1:56.85, set last month at the TYR Pro Swim Series meet in Atlanta, by more than two seconds. She also edged out McKeon’s Commonwealth record (1:54.83).
Titmus, who like Ruck is only 17 years old, finished in 1:54.85, just two hundredths off McKeon’s Australian record and good for No. 10 on the all-time list.
McKeon, the Olympic bronze medalist and World Champs co-silver medalist in the event, settled for bronze in 1:56.26.
English swimmers Eleanoe Faulkner (1:57.72) and Holly Hibber (1:58.55) took fourth and fifth, respectively, followed by Australia’s Leah Neale (1:58.76), Canada’s Penny Oleksiak (1:59.55) and Scotland’s Lucy Hope (1:59.58).
Won it on the start. .06 RT with a .04 margin of victory. Great swim. Its been coming for a long time.