VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 23. THE first full day of competition at the Mel Zajac Canada Cup had the incomparable Missy Franklin back where she’s the best – the long course pool. And, she made sure her swims tonight were impactful.
The Missile wasted little time in firing off tonight as she blitzed the women’s 200-meter back in 2:09.57. That effort pushed Franklin to ninth in the SwimVortex world rankings, as she shoved aside Sinead Russell’s 2:09.58 from Canadian Nationals.
Franklin’s teammate Elizabeth Pelton, also one of the top 200 backstrokers in the world, cruised into second this evening with a 2:10.89. Genevieve Cantin rounded out the top three in the distance dorsal with a 2:12.76.
Franklin didn’t have the same level of speed in the women’s 200-meter free as she did in her pet event of the 200 back, but the outcome was the same – Franklin touching first. She won in 2:00.03 for her second triumph of the night. Pointe-Claire’s Samantha Cheverton (2:00.95) and Alyson Ackman (2:01.42) placed second and third behind the superstar tonight.
Franklin completed her sensational night with another win as California tracked down the women’s 400-meter free relay title in an exciting finish against Canada. In similar fashion to her epic 800 free relay anchor, Franklin had to make up some ground to win the relay title tonight for California. Entering the water more than a second behind Alyson Ackman, Franklin clocked a 54.65 anchor delivering the win.
In the end, Cal’s Rachael Acker (56.59), Caroline Piehl (56.60), Elizabeth Pelton (56.42) and Franklin (54.65) clocked a 3:44.26 for the victory. Canada’s Victoria Poon (56.21), Sandrine Mainville (55.99), Michelle Williams (56.28) and Ackman (56.12) took second in 3:44.60. Canada’s B team of Samantha Cheverton (57.41), Chantal Vanlandeghem (55.49), Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson (57.26) and Brittany MacLean (57.51) took third in 3:47.67.
California’s Caitlin Leverenz dominated the women’s 400-meter IM finale with a 4:42.81 to help add to the gold medal haul for the Golden Bears. Celina Li finished second in 4:50.00, while Brittany MacLean grabbed third in the distance medley with a 4:51.41.
Russell Wood rolled right through the championship field in the men’s 200-meter backstroke as he clocked a 2:02.12 for the win. Markus Thormeyer (2:05.05) and Gabe Lee (2:05.83) finished second and third in the finale alongside Wood.
In an exciting finale, Tera Van Beilen powered through the women’s 100-meter breast for the win in 1:10.09, while Kierra Smith touched second in the heat with a 1:10.84. Erin Stamp claimed third in the finale with a 1:11.19.
Another exciting finish occurred in the men’s 200-meter free with the top three separate by just .24. UBCD’s Coleman Allen checked in with a 1:52.31 for the win in the event, while Island’s Keegan Zanatta placed second in 1:52.49. Allen’s training partner Stefan Milosevic wound up third in 1:52.55.
A day after leading the way in the 50 breast prelims, Club Wolverine’s Richard Funk snagged his first victory with a 1:02.48 in the men’s 100-meter breast. Keyano’s Nick Kostiuk tied Simon Fraser’s Andrew Poznikoff for second with matching 1:03.85s.
UBCD’s Noemie Thomas collected the women’s 50-meter fly crown in 27.02, while California’s Farida Osman placed second in the sprint event with a 27.33. PPO’s Sandrine Mainville touched just behind with a third-place 27.38.
Club Wolverine had a strong outing in the men’s 50-meter fly with a close call 1-2 finish. Geoff Cheah finished on top with a 24.81 for the win, while teammate Sean Fletcher placed second in 24.84. Kyle Troskot completed the top three with a third-place time of 25.14.
Tristan Cole raced his way to the men’s 400-meter IM title in 4:29.46. Luke Reilly (4:21.24) and Mack Darragh (4:32.23) comprised the rest of the podium in the distance medley event.
Canada’s Yuri Kisil (51.57), Coleman Allen (50.73), Luke Peddie (51.83) and Evan White (51.47) shut down the session with a 3:25.60 to win the men’s 400-meter free relay. UBCD’s Stefan Milosevic (51.97), Jonathan Brown (53.46), Marshal Parker (51.69) and Justin Chan (51.37) placed second in 3:28.49. Simon Fraser’s Andrew Poznikoff (51.73), David Hibberd (50.80), Steven Hibberg (52.23) and Dimitar Ivanov (55.04) put together a third-place time of 3:29.80.