Canada Cup, Toronto: Martha McCabe Blazes 200 Breaststroke, Olympian Mike Brown Returns

By David Rieder

TORONTO, Canada, November 28. THE Canada Cup concluded on Sunday with five more meet records set in the short course meters swim meet. UBC Dolphins' Martha McCabe provided the top swim of the night, with a world top-10 swim in the women's 200 breast. Meanwhile, Olympian Mike Brown returned to competition, following retirement after the Beijing Olympics, winning the men's 200 breast. Additionally, three other swimmers posted impressive swims to move into the world top-20.

Mccabe cruised to victory in her signature 200 breast, posting a time of 2:22.28. While just off of Annamay Pierse's 2008 meet record of 2:21.69, Mccabe moved ahead of Mio Motegi for the eighth best time in the world. Pointe-Claire's Ashley McGregor took second in 2:26.00, while McCabe's teammate Haylee Johnson grabbed third in 2:26.65. Notably, Pierse skipped this meet due to illness, but her sister Hanna, also of UBC Dolphins, swam in the race, finishing sixth in 2:27.38.

Brown, meanwhile posted a meet record in his 200 breast, recording a 2:09.75, beating his prior record of 2:10.78 set back in 2006. Brown won the silver medal at the 2005 World Championships in the 200 breast, and he finished fourth at the Olympics in Beijing. This swim marked his first major national swim since Beijing. SF's Sean Nugent, the leader through 100 meters, finished in 2:11.18, while UBC Dolphins' Scott Dickens claimed third in 2:11.75.

UCSC's Erica Morningstar posted a time of 1:00.58 to move to 16th in the world in the 100 IM. Whitby's Jen Beckberger led by nearly a second halfway through the race, but she faded to second, clocking 1:00.18, another top-25 time. Toronto's Paige Schultz came in third at 1:02.43. Trinidad's George Bovell matched her feat in the men's 100 IM, where he swam a time of 53.84, a meet record and good for 18th in the world. He won by 1.4 seconds, as Toronto's Tobias Oriwol touched out Marlins' Andrew Ford for second, 55.24 to 55.32.

Genevieve Samur cruised in the 200 free, winning by more than two seconds. Her time of 1:55.81 placed her 18th in the world, one spot ahead of world champion Federica Pellegrini (1:56.08). Etobicoke's Jacqueline Keire took second in 1:57.83, while UCSC's Lindsay Delmar checked in at 1:58.20 for third. Island's Blake Worsley won the men's 200 free in 1:47.10, exactly two seconds ahead of UCSC's Ray Betuzzi, who grabbed second in 1:49.10. Worsley's teammate Ryan Cochrane finished third in 1:49.64. Cochrane, the Canadian record-holder in the 400 and 1500 free, did not compete in those races this weekend.

CSQ's Katerine Savard set a meet record of 59.62 in the prelims of the women's 100 fly. In finals, Savard won the race and broke her record again, posting a 58.51, squeezing her into the top-25 in the world. MacKenzie Downing (59.12) and PPO's Victoria Poon (59.29) rounded out the top three, while Poon's teammate Audrey Lacroix clocked a fourth-place time of 59.47, also under Savard's time from prelims. Trinidad's Joshua Mc Leod also set a meet record in prelims, posting a 52.86 in the men's 100 fly prelims. He returned to win at night, clocking 53.04, ahead of LAC's Joe Bartoch (53.46) and Island's Stefan Hirniak (53.52).

Etobicoke's Susana Escobar moved into the top-25 in the women's 800 free, clocking 8:28.59. Her teammate Brittany MacLean took second in 8:32.32, while Toronto's Zsofi Balazs finished third in 8:37.83. Meanwhile Rouge Et Or's Damien Cattin-Vidal defeated Island's Keegan Zanattta in the men's 1500 free, 15:21.21 to 15:22.99. Another Island swimmer, Alec Page, grabbed third in 15:27.49.

In a tight finish, Beckberger grabbed the win in the women's 50 back, posting a 28.27, while UCSC's Katy Murdoch (28.35) and PSW's Hilary Caldwell (28.38) finished second and third, respectively. PPO's Charles Francis earned first place in the men's 50 back, checking in at 24.85. Etobicoke's Omar Arafa placed second in 25.22, while Scar's Graham Hawes finished third in 25.35.

UCSC's Murdoch, Morningstar, Delmar, and Seanna Mitchell won the women's 400 medley relay in 4:04.40. Rogue Et Or concluded the meet with a 3:44.77 win in the men's medley relay. Bruno Langlois, Benamin La Maguet, and Maxime Jacomelli swam the first three legs, while the name of their freestyler was unavailable at press time.

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