VICTORIA 鈥� Summer McIntosh came within a blink of an eye of breaking swimming鈥檚 oldest women鈥檚 world record at the Bell Canadian Swimming Trials on Tuesday night.
With a sold-out crowd鈥檚 cheers ringing in her ears, the 18-year-old from Toronto swam the 200-metre butterfly in 2:02.26 鈥� just .45 off the record of 2:01.81 set by China鈥檚 Liu Zige in 2009. She also shaved .76 off her own Canadian record and notched the second fastest time in history in the event.
Meanwhile, four new swimmers earned selection to Team Canada for this summer鈥檚 World Aquatics Championships. McIntosh was pleased with her swim, but also believes the record remains within her grasp.
鈥淚 think this world record is the hardest one to get,鈥� said McIntosh, who has set two world records and four Canadian records in four days. 鈥淚鈥檓 just so happy with the 2:02 low tonight. I didn鈥檛 know if that was possible for me.鈥�
McIntosh was on world record pace when she made the final turn for home.
鈥淚 was kind of upset with myself with the finish,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y last stroke was just a little bit wonky. I can definitely find the other little deficiencies through the race.
鈥淭he fact I鈥檓 knocking on the door on that world record is really encouraging. That鈥檚 the one world record I never thought I would even come close to. To be pretty close to it is pretty wild.鈥�
McIntosh won the 200-m individual medley on Monday in 2:05.70, lowering the time of 2:06.12 set by Hungary鈥檚 Katinka Hosszu that stood for nearly 10 years. She opened the trials, winning the 400-m freestyle in 3:54.18 on Saturday, breaking the old mark of 3:55.38 held by Australia鈥檚 Ariarne Titmus.
She broke her own Canadian record in the 800-m freestyle Sunday. Her time of 8:05.07 shaved almost five seconds off her own Canadian record and was the third fastest time ever, 0.95 of a second off the world record American legend Katie Ledecky set in May.
Ilya Kharun of Montreal picked up his second victory of the trials, winning the men鈥檚 200-m butterfly in 1:53.41.
Kharun earned a bronze medal in the 200 fly at the Paris 2024 Olympics, setting a Canadian record time. It was the first medal ever for a Canadian in the event.
Kharun said the race remains a learning curve for him.
鈥淚鈥檓 really glad how it鈥檚 progressing,鈥� said Kharun, who swam a personal best time to win the 100 fly on Sunday. 鈥淚 think it should be a lot better once we get some more work in.鈥�
It was an emotional moment for Toronto鈥檚 Ruslan Gaziev, who won the men鈥檚 100-m freestyle in 48.37 seconds. That was under Swimming Canada鈥檚 secondary standard of 48.82.
Gaziev is returning to swimming after serving an 18-month suspension due to an anti-doping rule violation regarding keeping his whereabouts information fully up-to-date. 鈥淚鈥檓 just happy I won,鈥� said the 25-year-old. 鈥淚鈥檓 honestly proud of myself and how I鈥檝e handled the struggles I鈥檝e had. I feel like I鈥檝e really built up my resilience.鈥�
Antoine Sauve of Montreal鈥檚 CAMO club was second in the men鈥檚 100 in 48.42. Toronto鈥檚 Josh Liendo was third in 48.62, followed by Filip Senc-Samardzic of Toronto in 49.13. Liendo had already earned selection in two events (100 fly and 50 free) while Sauve and Senc-Samardzic added their names to the list.
Three-time Olympian Penny Oleksiak of Toronto won her second event of the trials, taking the women鈥檚 100 free in 54.03, well under the AQUA A standard of 54.25. She swam a personal best to win the 50 free on Monday. 鈥淚 think I had a lot more in that race,鈥� said Oleksiak, the owner of seven Olympic medals. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to get back into training and just getting faster for the summer.鈥�
The top four finishers in the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 100 freestyle events will be selected to join Team Canada at this summer鈥檚 World Aquatics Championships.
Finishing second in the women鈥檚 100 free was Kelowna鈥檚 Taylor Ruck in 54.41, followed by Brooklyn Douthwright of Riverview, N.B., in 54.74 and Ingrid Wilm of the High Performance Centre鈥擵ancouver in 55.15. Ruck (100-m) and Wilm (50-m) had already earned selection in backstroke events, while Douthwright earned her spot for the first time.
STRONG NIGHT FOR PARA SWIMMERS
Para swimmers enjoyed another strong night with Alyssa Smyth, Nicholas Bennett, and Sebastian Massabie all setting Canadian records. Katie Cosgriffe won the multi-class women鈥檚 100-m butterfly in 1:07.61, a time the S10 swimmer from the Oakville Aquatic Club believes she can improve on.
鈥淭here鈥檚 lots of technical ways that I can be a lot faster,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 have to work on my speed in general.鈥�
Alyssa Smyth of the Orangeville Otters Swim Club was second in the race in an S13 Canadian record time of 1:06.42. A mix-up resulted in Smyth arriving at the pool late. She didn鈥檛 have time for a warm-up before her race.
鈥淭here was a lot of adrenalin,鈥� said Smyth. 鈥淚 thought to make the best of the situation, I would just try the best I could. It went pretty well.鈥�
Fernando Lu of Langley鈥檚 Olympian Swimming won two races. The S10 swimmer started the evening taking the multi-class 100-m butterfly in 58.20 seconds, then the 50-m freestyle in 24.44.
鈥淚t went well for me tonight,鈥� said Lu, who reached two finals at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. 鈥淚 feel more energized than ever. I鈥檓 really happy with the way I鈥檝e recovered from the past races.鈥�
Sebastian Massabie of the Pacific Sea Wolves broke the S5 Canadian record twice in the 50 freestyle. He swam 36.22 seconds in the morning preliminaries, then 35.42 in the final. He broke the Canadian record in the S5 50-m butterfly twice on Monday.
Nicholas Bennett, an S14 swimmer with the Red Deer Catalina Swim Club, swam 57.50 to lower his own Canadian record in the 100-m butterfly.
The six-day trials, which run through Thursday, have attracted more than 700 swimmers to Saanich Commonwealth Place in Victoria.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2025.
The Canadian Press
