Streamlined News: Canada Set to Fill Worlds Roster

PHOENIX, Arizona, April 3. A few swimmers from the men's and women's NCAA championships will be headliners today at the start of the Canadian world championship trials in Victoria, British Columbia. Sinead Russell will look to break the 1:00 barrier in the 100 backstroke today in her quest to make the roster. Russell finished second in the 100 back at the NCAA championships in her freshman year for Florida. Brittany MacLean, who was part of a record-setting relay in Indianapolis for the University of Georgia, will be part of a close final in the women's 200 free.

The men's 200 freestyle final will likely feature Hassaan Abdel-Khalik, who is coming off celebrations for the team victory last week with the University of Michigan, and Jeremy Bagshaw, who swam on Southern Cal's third-place 800 free relay. And Matthew Swanston, who made both backstroke NCAA finals for Stanford, will be in the hunt to qualify for worlds in the 100 back. Ryan Cochrane will race in the timed final 800 freestyle tonight, likely to easily cruise to the first of what could be three events for him in Barcelona.

Sun Yang made a statement that he will be gunning for the world championship title in the 200 free, posting a 1:44.99 in the event today at the Chinese nationals. Sun tied for second in the event the Olympics with Tae-Hwan Park with a 1:44.93.

The YMCA short course nationals begins today in Greensboro, North Carolina. Several of swimming history's best swimmers have come from the YMCA program, and a couple of current standouts at the NCAA level, Margo Geer and Mitchell Friedemann of Arizona, both had stellar runs at the NCAA championships before succeeding on the collegiate stage. We've already seen a meet record fall today in prelims, as 16-year-old Bethany Leap of Sarasota swam a 2:11.85 in the 200 breast to break an 11-year-old record. Katrina Konopka, just 15 years old, was just a tenth away from Geer's meet record in the 50 free, swimming a 22.77 in prelims.

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