Canadian Olympian Taylor Ruck has been living in the United States since she was a child, but returns to her Canadian roots periodically. This time, it is to train.
After taking an Olympic redshirt to train in Toronto, Ruck has spent the past few months in Arizona to be with her family during the COVID-19 quarantine. But Ruck, a Canadian citizen, returned north of the border two weeks ago to British Columbia to stay with her grandparents as she waits for the Olympic training facility in Toronto to re-open in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, to train for the summer.
She had to remain quarantined for two weeks once she crossed the border before being able to move around the country.
“When you go back across the border you have to quarantine for two weeks. At the airport they give you a sheet to fill out to say where you will self-quarantine,” Taylor Ruck told Swimming World.
Her two weeks ended Wednesday and she was ready to head to Toronto, but with pools not open, she will wait a little bit longer.
That is just fine with her. She gets to spend some much-needed time with her grandparents.
“I get to see them which is nice. I haven’t seen them since last summer. It is so nice to spend more time with them and get to know them better,” she said. “The plan was to head to Toronto. But the pool still hasn’t opened up, so whenever that happens, I will head over there. I think it is just a super special opportunity just to be able to enjoy different parts of it. I have been mostly in Toronto, so being able to be in different places is special.”
Ruck has been to some pretty special places — and had some pretty special swims — around the world the past few years.
Ruck, a junior world champion in 2015, won three bronze medals on all of Canada’s relays at the 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. She was fourth in the 100 back, and fifth in the 200 back and 100 free, just missing the podium.
Even more dominant was her 2018 year when she won a record eight medals at the Commonwealth Games and five medals at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships 12 months ago, including an epic 200 free win over Katie Ledecky and Rikako Ikee, one of the most memorable international showdowns in recent years.
How long will Ruck stay in Toronto?
The question is still up in the air. Ruck hasn’t decided whether she will return to Stanford University or remain in Toronto to train for the stretch run leading up to the 2021 Olympics.
She had a strong freshman season in Palo Alto as well. In 2019, she was part of Stanford’s 800 free relay national title and was NCAA runner-up in the 200 free and 200 back, also finishing third in the 100 back to lead Stanford to the team title. This year, she took an Olympic redshirt from Stanford to train for the Games under Ben Titley alongside relay teammates Penny Oleksiak and Kayla Sanchez.
Taylor Ruck at Stanford; Photo Courtesy: Dan D’Addona
“I am still not sure,” Ruck said. “Stanford students got a plan about what things could look like, but even that is not official yet because things keep changing. Everything is super last-minute. It is definitely weird to not know what is happening in the future. Before coronavirus happened, everyone knew what was going on and what was next. Now we are just moving from one moment to the next. Having to shift my mind to that has been a challenge, but also a blessing, because it has allowed me to enjoy the small things.”
That means enjoying the time she spent the past few months in Arizona.
“I really felt that sense of coming home when I went to Arizona. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I was there with my dad and brother,” Ruck said.
Ruck also had resources during the pandemic, which she said she is grateful for.
“I connected with my first coach Kim Courtney who taught me how to swim. She has a two-lane 25-yard pool in her back yard,” Ruck said. “I also was fortunate enough to be connect with Brian Hoffer. I trained a little bit at a facility with him and also did weights. I was super fortunate to have those resources. I have definitely been doing a lot of things in the gym, keeping that steady. Just staying in cardio shape with running and biking. I am trying to work on technique a bit, too. There are so many directions to go.”
But for now that direction is north for Taylor Ruck to train in Toronto as she prepares for 2021.
“The move to 2021 is another year to prepare and hone down my skills — and get stronger. It will be really good,” she said. “The potential is really exciting.”