2022 Bell Canadian Trials: Kylie Masse, Joshua Liendo Improve National Records; Maggie Mac Neil Skipping Solo Events at Worlds

Kylie Masse; Photo Courtesy: MIKE LEWIS / ISL

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Kylie Masse, Joshua Liendo Improve National Records; Maggie Mac Neil Skipping Solo Events at Worlds

Kylie Masse and Joshua Liendo keep moving the standard forward in Canadian swimming, each lowering their records on Night 2 of the 2022 Bell Canadian Trials.

Masse powered past Ingrid Wilm to lower her national record in the 50 backstroke to 27.18 seconds. Liendo lowered his mark in the men’s 100 butterfly by more than half a second to 50.88.

First Masse, who faced a stiff challenge from Wilm, the two dueling throughout last ISL season. Masse ended up retaking her record last month in 27.52, them promptly dashed a quarter-second off it to 27.18. The time is withing two tenths of Xiang Liu’s world record from 2018 (26.98).

“The 50 is something I feel I have struggled a little bit with,” Masse said in a Swimming Canada press release. “It’s a constant battle for me with the tempo. I’ve put in a lot of hard work. It was all about getting the best out of myself and being able to put it all together. I wasn’t expecting it but at the same time I was hoping for it.”

Wilm was second din 27.80. Third was Mary-Sophie Harvey in 28.32. Kayla Sanchez had gone 28.21 in prelims before scratching the final.

 Event 13  Women 50 LC Meter Backstroke
==================================================================
        WORLD: w 26.98  2018-08-21Xiang Liu, CHN
          CAN: n 27.52  2022-03-04Kylie Masse, TSC
    Name           Year Team              Prelims     Finals  FINA       
==================================================================
                        === A - Final ===                         
 
  1 Kylie Masse     96 TSC                 27.65      27.18n  978  
         r:+0.54                       
  2 Wilm, Ingrid K   98 CASC               28.04      27.80   914  
         r:+0.61                       
  3 Harvey, Mary-Sophie 99 CAMO            28.30      28.32   864  
         r:+0.58

Liendo had no company out in front of the field. The fast-rising sprinter went out in 23.63 and came back in 27.25 to win in 50.88. He had nearly downed his national record with a 51.58 in prelims and left no doubt in the final, erasing the 51.40 from Olympic Trials last year.

“It was definitely the plan,” Liendo said. “I want to move forward in the future. I like to have a little swagger, I like to do things my way. I know I have the ability to fight and win races. I want to get some medals on the international level, that’s my goal.”

Finlay Knox was the closest to keep him company in 51.86.

Event 16  Men 100 LC Meter Butterfly
==================================================================
        WORLD: w 49.50  2019-07-26Caeleb Dressel, USA
          CAN: n 51.40  2021-06-19Joshua Liendo, NYAC
    Name           Year Team              Prelims     Finals  FINA       
==================================================================
                        === A - Final ===                         
 
  1 Liendo, Joshua   02 NYAC                51.58      50.88n  920  
    r:+0.63  23.63        50.88 (27.25)
  2 Knox, Finlay     01 SCAR                53.55      51.86   869  
    r:+0.67  24.14        51.86 (27.72)
  3 Ogilvie, Keir    02 UBCT                53.77      53.49   792  
    r:+0.62  24.82        53.49 (28.67)
  4 Calkins, Stephe  98 UCSC                54.43      54.77   738  
    r:+0.62  25.14        54.77 (29.63)

The other high-profile win came with an addendum: Maggie Mac Neil, the reigning Olympic champion in the women’s 100 butterfly, won the event in 57.13, well off her Canadian record of 55.83. But Mac Neil revealed in an interview with CBC that she’s going to eschew the individual event at Worlds to swim only relays, citing her mental health.

“It’s hard to stay at the top and that pressure really got to me,” Mac Neil said. “I need a chill summer. I don’t want to be out of international competition. I want to train and compete well for Canada but I needed that little bit of a let up I guess.”

“Your mental and physical health comes before you as an athlete. So they (Swimming Canada) definitely have been thinking of us as a person first which is so important. I’m grateful for that.”

That opens a spot for Katerine Savard, seven years MacNeil’s senior, to step in. Savard went 58.01 to finish second in finals (she had been 57.86 in prelims) and has been posting some of her best times since her early 20s. Rebecca Smith was third in 58.76, though that’s beyond the FINA A standard of 58.33.

vent 15  Women 100 LC Meter Butterfly
==================================================================
        WORLD: w 55.48  2016-08-07Sarah Sjostrom, SWE
          CAN: n 55.83  2019-07-22Margaret MacNeil, LAC
    Name           Year Team              Prelims     Finals  FINA       
==================================================================
                        === A - Final ===                         
 
  1 MacNeil, Margar  00 LAC                 58.78      57.13   915  
    r:+0.66  26.88        57.13 (30.25)
  2 Savard, Katerin  93 CAMO                57.86      58.01   874  
    r:+0.65  27.03        58.01 (30.98)
  3 Smith, Rebecca   00 UCSC                59.22      58.76   841  
    r:+0.71  26.97        58.76 (31.79)

Elsewhere, Canada may find itself with yet another female distance phenom on its hands. No, not Summer McIntosh. Not, not 17-year-old Olympian Katrina Bellio.

No, instead it was 16-year-old Abby Dunford winning the women’s mile Wednesday night, going 16:20.26 to get more than nine seconds under the FINA A standard. Dunford, who trains with burgeoning American distance powerhouse Sandpipers of Nevada, dropped 15.49 seconds off her seed time.

“It means everything for me,” Dunford said. “I have been training the last eight months. I wasn’t expecting this at all. I just wanted to go a best time and have fun racing.”

In the process, she upended Bellio, who finished second in 16:34.24. Bellio’s top time is a 16:24.37.

Loic Courville Fortin, an 18-year-old, won the men’s 50 backstroke in 25.98. That’s well shy of the FINA A standard of 25.17. The two top times in the morning were set by Greek swimmer Vaggelis Makrygiannis in 25.48 and Poland’s Kacper Stokowski in 25.84.

Eric Brown won the men’s 800 free in 7:59.68, the only swimmer under eight minutes. The FINA cut is 7:53.11.

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