Canadian Short Course Championships: Plenty of National Records Buttress World-Record Night by Annamay Pierse

TORONTO, Ontario, Canada, March 14. CANADIAN swimmers completed a drastic revision of the nation's short course record books with a swift final night of action at the Canadian Short Course Championships held in Toronto.

The much-touted Pontiac Wave world record bounty proved to be helpful as Annamay Pierse edged Leisel Jones' world record in the 200 breast to earn herself a brand new vehicle. Pierse clocked a time of 2:17.50 to beat the 2:17.75 Jones posted in 2003 in Melbourne. For full coverage of the world-record breaking swim, click here. Notably, Martha McCabe (2:23.05) and Haylee Johnson (2:23.40) finished second and third. Additionally, Pierse's sister Hanna placed fourth in 2:25.74.

Erica Morningstar came up just a bit short of her national record in the women's 200 IM with a winning time of 2:09.75 to open the evening. Morningstar set the current standard with a time of 2:09.12 last month. Paige Schultz placed second in 2:11.72, while Genevieve Saumur finished third in 2:12.36.

Brian Johns followed in the men's 200 IM with a Canadian record of 1:55.19. The effort clipped his 2003 standard of 1:55.46. Keith Beavers finished second just behind in 1:55.98, while Andrew Ford touched third in 2:00.05.

Savannah King and Tanya Hunks were neck-and-neck heading into the final 100 meters with both posting 7:19s at the 700-meter mark in the women's 800 free. King, however, had more in the tank as she ripped off an 8:19.99 with Hunks taking second in 8:22.29. Both swims eclipsed the 2003 national record of 8:23.97 previously held by Brittany Reimer. Notably, Barbara Jardin completed the top three in 8:35.10.

After setting the national record with a 24.68 during prelims, Victoria Poon wound up just getting her hand on the wall first in the women's 50 free with a time of 24.97 during finals. Marie-Pier Ratelle placed second in 25.20 with Chantal Vanlandeghem taking third in 25.35. Poon's prelim time broke the previous record of 24.84 set by Morningstar in 2007.

Brent Hayden completed a big revision of the Canadian men's 50 free record with two progressions throughout prelims and finals. Heading into the day, Hayden's top time had been a 21.91 set back in 2006. Hayden then blasted a 21.51 during prelims before finishing the day with a 21.34 for the splash-and-dash title. Matt Rose placed second in 21.88, under the record heading into the day, and Joe Bartoch took third in 22.06.

Scott Dickens had the difficult challenge of following Pierse's world-record party during the men's 200 breast finale. Dickens just missed the national record with a winning 2:07.24. Morgan Knabe's 2002 national standard of 2:07.15 remained on the books. Mathieu Bois took second in 2:09.34, while Marco Monaco finished third in 2:11.09.

While at times way under his national-record pace during the men's metric mile, Ryan Cochrane settled with the national title in 14:39.80 during the 1500 free. Cochrane's record of 14:35.73 set in 2008 remained on the books. Hassaan Abdel-Khalik finished second in 14:57.11, while Craig Dagnall placed third in 15:04.43.

The team of Katy Murdoch, Allison Long, Kirsten Weevers and Morningstar won the women's 400-yard medley relay with a national-record time of 4:03.51. The performance edged the former record of 4:04.20 set by the University of Calgary last month.

The foursome of Matt Hawes, Dickens, Rory Biskupski and Hayden completed what proved to be a historic Canadian short course national meet with a national record of 3:31.48 in the men's 400-yard medley relay. The effort wiped out the 3:33.04 set by UBC last month.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x