Canadian World Championship Trials: Trio of Canadian Records Tumble

VICTORIA, British Columbia, April 2. THE fourth evening of long course racing at the Canadian World Championship Trials produced a trio of Canadian records.

Sinead Russell smashed through the national record in the women's 200 back to open the evening. Russell turned in a smoking time of 2:08.89, far surpassing the previous record of 2:10.03 set by Lauren Lavigna in 2009. She jumped up to fifth in the world rankings this year with the effort. Genevieve Cantin finished second in 2:10.36, while Dominique Bouchard touched just behind with a 2:10.39. Lavigna, notably, took fourth in 2:10.83.

Erica Morningstar notched the second Canadian record of the night with a 2:11.23 in the women's 200 IM. That effort eclipsed the 2:11.32 set by Julia Wilkinson in August 2010. Morningstar pushed to third in the world rankings behind Alicia Coutts (2:10.06) and Stephanie Rice (2:10.41). Wilkinson finished second in 2:12.89 to tie for fifth, while Alexa Komarnycky earned third in 2:14.84.

In an exciting finish, Matt Hawes touched out Tobias Oriwol by the slimmest of margins, 1:58.89 to 1:58.90, in the men's 200 back. Those swims moved Hawes and Oriwol into the top 10 in the world. Matt Swanston picked up third in 2:01.18.

Brent Hayden nabbed the men's 50 free with a winning time of 22.37. That performance moved him to seventh in the world rankings. Luke Peddie took second in 23.09, while Kyle Troskot finished third in 23.12. Will Copeland, notably, won the B final in 22.55.

Andrew Ford improved to 11th in the world rankings with a winning 2:01.27 in the men's 200 IM. Tim Ruse finished second in 2:04.97, while Matt Kwatyra touched third in 2:05.23.

Victoria Poon topped the women's 50 free in 25.35 for a top-20 ranked time. Chantal Vanlandeghem touched second in 25.43, while Marie-Pier Ratelle placed third in 25.55. Savannah King claimed the women's 800 free in 8:39.14, while Zsofi Balazs took second in 8:41.99. Tanya Hunks wound up third in 8:45.87.

Ryan Cochrane finished the individual swims for the night with a 15:16.01 in the men's 1500 free. Kier Maitland placed second in 15:32.27, while Sean Penhale touched third in 15:36.94.

Lavigna, Haylee Johnson, Noemie Thomas and Heather Maclean posted a national record in the women's 400 medley relay with a 4:05.89. That time demolished the previous mark of 4:08.71 set in 2009. Oriwol, Warren Barnes, Edward Liu and Martyn Forde finished the night with a winning time of 3:45.84 in the men's 400 medley relay.

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