Lacroix Notches Two Wins at Bell Grand Prix

MONTREAL, July 2. AUDREY Lacroix of Montreal won as expected in the women’s 100 butterfly and surprised the Canadian record holder for gold in the 50 freestyle on Saturday at the Bell Grand Prix swimming competition being held at the Olympic Park Pool. In the women’s 100 butterfly, Lacroix withstood a strong challenge from Mackenzie Downing of Victoria for the victory in 1:00.54. Downing followed in 1:01.01 and Jennifer Carroll of Trois-Rivieres, Que., was third in 1:02.87.

In the 50 freestyle, Lacroix earned her third gold of the competition, clocking 26.50 with Canadian record holder Victoria Poon of Montreal second in 26.66 and Jen Beckberger of Ajax, Ont., third in 26.67.

“I felt really good in the water tonight and it was great hearing the crowd cheering when I touched the wall at the halfway point,” said Lacroix, the 50 fly winner on Friday. “My 100 butterfly went according to plan and it sets me up well for the 200 fly. Winning the 50 freestyle was surprising. I had a great morning swim and came in very confident.”

It was big day for Waterloo, Ont., swimmers Matt Mains and Keith Beavers, who both posted wins. Mains beat world championship medallist Mike Brown of Calgary to win the 200 breaststroke in a personal best time (Brown was third) and Beavers won as expected the 200 backstroke.

“My goal coming into this meet was to improve the times I had posted last week at a Grand Prix in California ,” said Mains. “I was able to improve the front end of my race and be more tactical. The end result was lowering my previous time by over a second and a first place finish. It’s great to be able to swim against a guy like Mike Brown and come on top.”

In the men’s 50 freestyle, Yannick Lupien of Quebec City showed why he is the Canadian record holder, taking the gold in 23.41. Colin Russell of Burlington, Ont., was second in 23.47. Other winners included Joe Bartoch of London, Ont., in the men’s 100 butterfly, Helen Pitchik of Toronto in the women’s 200 breaststroke and Chanelle Charron-Watson of Quebec City in the women’s 400 freestyle.

MEN

50 freestyle: 1. Yannick Lupien, Quebec City, 23.41; 2. Colin Russell, Burlington, Ont., 23.47; 3. Peter Hughes, U.S., 23.90.

100 butterfly: 1. Joe Bartoch, London, Ont., 54.71; 2. Thomas Kindler, Montreal, 55.41; 3. Chad Hankewich, Saskatoon, 55.62.

200 backstroke: 1. Keith Beavers, Waterloo, Ont., 2:02.61; 2. David Russell, U.S., 2:03.29; 3. Charles Francis, Montreal, 2:06.60.

200 breaststroke: 1. Matt Mains, Waterloo, Ont., 2:17.46; 2. Leonardo Martins, U.S., 2 :17.83 ; 3. Mike Brown, Calgary, 2:18.88.

400 freestyle: 1. Eric Nilsson, U.S., 3:59.07; 2. Matthew Pariselli, Etobicoke, Ont., 4:05.41; 3. Grant Nelson, U.S., 4:06.72.

WOMEN

50 freestyle: 1. Audrey Lacroix, Montreal, 26.50; 2. Victoria Poon, Montreal, 26.66; 3. Jen Beckberger, Ajax, Ont., 26.67.

100 butterfly: 1. Audrey Lacroix, Montreal, 1:00.54; 2. Mackenzie Downing, Victoria, 1:01.01; 3. Jennifer Carroll, Trois-Rivieres, Que., 1:02.87.

200 backstroke : 1. Elizabeth Beisel, U.S., 2:16.49; 2. Daphne Skelos, U.S., 2:18.11; 3. Melanie Bouchard, Quebec City, 2:19.25.

200 breaststroke : 1. Helen Pitchik, Toronto, 2:35.65 ; 2. Lisa Blackburn, Waterloo, Ont., 2:36.36; 3. Genevieve Crevier, Brossard, Que., 2:39.37.

400 freestyle: 1. Chanelle Charron-Watson, Quebec City, 4:16.18; 2. Alexa Komarnycky, Etobicoke, Ont., 4:19.54; 3. Zsofi Balazs, Toronto, 4:21.96.

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