Canadian Olympic Trials: Sinead Russell Lowers Canadian Record; Summer Mortimer, Benoit Huot Down Paralympic World Records

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MONTREAL, Canada, April 1. THE Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Trials came to a close in Montreal with another handful of new Canadian Olympians earning spots on the 2012 London Olympic squad.

Women's 50 free
Victoria Poon earned the sprint free spot for Canada with a sterling time of 25.03, while Chantal Vanlandeghem missed the squad by the slimmest of margins with a 25.28. That swim missed the FINA A cut of 25.27 by just .01 seconds, leaving Vanlandeghem with a heartbreaking finish. Poon raced to 17th in the world with her effort, and secured her second Olympic appearance in the event for Canada after competing at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Hannah Riordan (25.33), Jennifer Beckberger (25.50), Sandrine Mainville (25.54), Seanna Mitchell (25.58), Michelle Williams (26.01) and Fionnuala Pierse (26.21) rounded out the championship heat.

Men's 50 free
Brent Hayden scored his second individual swim at the Olympics after qualifying in the 100 free earlier in the meet. This evening, Hayden posted a 22.16 in the splash-and-dash, just outside the FINA A cut of 22.11 to provisionally qualify for the 50. Hayden improved to 17th in the world with his performance.

Richard Hortness took second in 22.47, while Luke Peddie placed third in 22.60. Kyle Troskot (22.84), Octavian Petre (23.01), Duncan Partridge (23.06), Kelly Aspinall (23.08) and Charlie Tapp (23.24) comprised the rest of the finale.

Women's 200 back
Sinead Russell's week just got even better. After making the Olympic squad in the 100 back, Russell shot down the Canadian record in the distance dorsal with a sterling 2:08.04 to earn a second individual swim in London. That time cleared her previous standard of 2:08.80 set at the 2011 World Championships, and moved her to fifth in the world this year. Only Belinda Hocking (2:06.68), Meagen Nay (2:07.83), Elizabeth Simmonds (2:07.92) and Missy Franklin (2:07.97) have been faster so far.

Hilary Caldwell edged Julia Wilkinson, 2:09.14 to 2:09.53, for the second spot on the team as both swimmers bested the FINA A cut of 2:10.84. Caldwell jumped to 10th in the world, while Wilkinson, the 100 back victor who also earned spots on the team in the 200 IM and 100 free, took 13th in the world with her swim.

Dominique Bouchard (2:09.70) and Barbara Jardin (2:10.78) also cleared the FINA A cut of 2:10.84 to demonstrate the depth for Canada in the event. Genevieve Cantin (2:11.12), Tess Simpson (2:14.31) and Annie Harrison (2:15.73) completed the top eight.

Men's 200 IM
Andrew Ford earned the lone provisional qualifying spot on the Canadian roster in the event with a 2:01.18. The swim missed the FINA A cut of 2:00.17, but bettered the B cut of 2:04.38. Jake Tapp (2:02.75), Matthew Kwatyra (2:04.35), Gleb Suvorov (2:04.93), David Dimitrov (2:04.96), Mack Darragh (2:05.84), Lyam Dias (2:07.13) and Steven Bielby (2:07.22) also swam in the finale.

Men's 1500 free
Ryan Cochrane added the 1500 freestyle to his 400 freestyle Olympic berth with a 15:09.80 for the metric mile victory. The time bested the FINA A cut of 15:11.83, and put him into the event in which he won an Olympic bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Games. Cochrane also moved to 12th in the world rankings with the swim.

Kier Maitland (15:17.03), Williams Brothers (15:21.53), Alec Page (15:25.46), Sean Penhale (15:28.64), Keegan Zanatta (15:46.34), Eric Hedlin (15:46.61) and Philippe Guertin (15:53.40) posted the other finishes in the men's 1500 free.

MULTI-CLASS FINALS
Summer Mortimer posted a Paralympic world record in the women's 50 free S10 division with a 28.17. That effort eclipsed the 28.30 she set two years ago in Toronto. Valerie Grand'Maison clocked a 27.99 in the women's 50 free S13 division. Amber Thomas led the S11 division with a 33.14, while Morgan Bird clocked a 33.86 in the S8 division. Brianna Nelson hit the wall in 35.74 in the S7 division.

Benoit Huot clocked a 2:10.26 in the men's 200 IM SM10 division, smashing his Paralympic world record of 2:11.30 from 2010. Meanwhile Devin Gotell turned in a 2:27.78 in the SM13 division. Stefan Daniel posted a 2:43.91 in the SM9 division.

Nathan Stein checked in with a 24.26 in the men's 50 free S10 division, while Brian Hills posted a 27.17 in the S13 division. Michael Diering led the S9 division with a 28.09.

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