With Absences, Canada Relays to Look Different at Commonwealth Games

CAN - Canada, SANCHEZ Kayla CAN, MACNEIL Margaret CAN, SMITH Rebecca CAN, SAVARD Katerine CAN, Gold Medal, 4x100 Freestyle Women Final Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates 16/12/2021 Etihad Arena FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Photo Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

With Absences, Canada Relays to Look Different at Commonwealth Games

Canada’s ascendency in women’s swimming has been epitomized by its relay depth, a growth that reached a high-water mark with three medals at the World Championships this summer.

But when the Commonwealth Games open in Birmingham, England, this week, things will necessarily look a little different for the Canadians. It might, the coaching staff hopes, be to their long-term benefit.

For all the program stalwarts attempting the Worlds/Commonwealths double, the relay depth will be lacking. Among those passing on Birmingham are Penny Oleksiak, Canada’s most decorated Olympian who added four relay medals in Budapest, and all-purpose relay cog Taylor Ruck. The program is also coping with an unusual situation in the nationality switch of Kayla Sanchez, a two-time Olympic medalist in Tokyo who will represent the Philippines going forward.

First the Sanchez departure, which hits more than just the Canada relays. The 21-year-old has been squarely part of Canada’s golden generation, swimming on three gold-winning relays at the watershed 2017 World Junior Championships in Indianapolis. She also won silver in the 200 individual medley and bronze in the 100 freestyle at the meet.

Sanchez was a key cog over 100 and 200 meters in relays, winning silver in the 400 free and bronze in the women’s 400 medley relays in Tokyo. Her parting gift to the program was a hand in winning women’s 400 free and mixed 400 free silver, 800 free bronze and women’s 400 medley bronze in Budapest.

But Sanchez’s stature, as a member of the training group in the Toronto High Performance Centre and a personality out of the pool, will be missed most.

“Kayla is such a great person; she was bubbly and had so much energy so it was always great to feed off that,” Maggie Mac Neil said via Zoom on Friday from the team’s staging camp in Caen, France. “We’re going to miss her a lot but we’re really excited that she wants to take on this next chapter and we’re wishing her well and we’ll be excited to see her at Worlds next summer.”

“I don’t think it was an easy decision for her to make,” said sprinter Josh Liendo. “I spoke to her when it happened. Obviously it was a bit of a shock to the group, but it seems like she’s doing something that’s good for her and good for her family. She’s obviously really excited to go on this next chapter.”

Sanchez’s absence is one of many opportunities. Without Ruck and Oleksiak, sprint options will be exercised. One name that Mac Neil, who passed on individual events in Budapest to focus on the relays but will resume a fuller program in Birmingham, shouted out is the possibility of Summer McIntosh jumping into the sprint relays. She already was a key part of the 800 free relay in Budapest.

That part isn’t all that different. McIntosh is the most visible one on the women’s side with a multitude of options for events to swim, but she’s not alone in showcasing versatility that translates to relays. Team coach Ryan Mallette said the team will use this event to balance not just short-term success but the long-term prognosis for the Paris Olympics.

Sanchez’s place on the first-choice Canada relays is certainly one that’s up for grabs. And for women on the fringes of that picture, Birmingham is a potent opportunity to force their name into the conversation.

“It’s definitely going to be a different experience,” Mac Neil said. “This is my first Commonwealth Games. I think it will be a different experience just being at a different meet in general, but I think this is a really great opportunity for people to swim events that they might not be swimming normally. Like Summer might be used on a sprint relay or we have some new youngsters swimming relay prelims, so giving them that experience will be vital going into 2024 and definitely going into 2028.”

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