Canadian Swimming Trials Open in Toronto This Week

The #RoadToTokyo begins now, as Canada’s best swimmers converge on Toronto to compete for spots on six teams being selected at the Canadian Swimming Trials.

The Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre will play host to Swimming Canada’s flagship domestic event April 3-7.

Preliminary heats begin at 9:30 a.m. each day, with finals set for 6 p.m. Tickets are available at the door and are just $5 for preliminary sessions, $10 for finals. A full meet pass is available for $60, and children under 10 will be admitted free of charge.

In addition to coveted Team Canada spots at the FINA World Championships and World Para Swimming Championships, athletes will also be selected for the Pan American Games, Parapan American Games, FISU Summer Universiade and FINA World Junior Championships. Every spot is crucial, as any of those teams could be a springboard to qualifying for next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

“As the world championships teams, there are other great opportunities for Canadian athletes to be racing in international competition in the year prior to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Who will be on these other teams is putting themselves in a position to make the national team even stronger in 2020 because of the opportunity that’s available to them in 2019,” said Swimming Canada High Performance Director John Atkinson. “An example of that is Kylie Masse, who won a gold medal at the World University Games in 2015, went on to the Trials in 2016, made the team and was an Olympic medallist at the end of Rio. Penny Oleksiak and Taylor Ruck went to the World Junior Championships in 2015 and both went on to win medals at the Olympics.”

A total of 627 athletes (346 female, 281 male) will be in action representing 157 clubs. That includes international competitors from 21 countries: Algeria, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Italy, Kenya, Latvia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States.

Canada’s stars include Taylor Ruck, who set medal records at last year’s Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships, and two-time Swimming Canada Female Swimmer of the Year Kylie Masse, the 100-m backstroke world champion. Quadruple Olympic medallist Penny Oleksiak will be in action, as will world championship medallist Sydney Pickrem, and Olympic medallists Emily Overholt and Kennedy Goss. On the men’s side, Yuri Kisil and Markus Thormeyer will be looking to take the next step after breaking through with their first individual medals on the international stage in 2018.

Swimming Canada recently announced the nomination criteria for the 2020 Olympic team, making this year’s Trials the official first step on that qualification pathway.

“Relay teams will qualify Canada’s spot if they finish in the Top 12 at this summer’s world championships in Korea. And the highest-placed Canadian medallist in any Olympic event can have their world championships time stand towards selection next year. Open water marathon swimming qualification also opens up at the world championships,” Atkinson said. “To have the criteria for both the pool and marathon swimming published now sets the standards for the Canadian swimmers well ahead of time.”

The fully integrated meet will also feature all the stars of the Paralympic program, including multiple world-record holder Aurelie Rivard and fellow Paralympic medallists Tess Routliffe, Nicolas-Guy Turbide and Katarina Roxon. Meanwhile, world record holder and Pan Pacific champion Shelby Newkirk will look to continue her ascendance and make her way to her first world championships for Team Canada. Philippe Vachon, Morgan Bird and Abi Tripp will be looking to build on their 2018 seasons, which saw them win Commonwealth Games medals, as will Pan Pac champions Alec Elliot, Justine Morrier and Angela Marina.

— The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with Swimming Canada. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.

Name*

Email*

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

Name*

Email*

2 Comments

Oldest

Newest Most Voted

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments

Susanne Droppelmann Rothery

5 years ago

Go Javi Acevedo!

Bill Clements

5 years ago

Road trip ?