Kim sets national age group record on Day 3 of Canadian Championships
News –
MONTREAL – National titlists were crowned in 19 more categories Wednesday evening as the 2022 Speedo Canadian Junior and Senior Swimming Championships continued at Montreal’s Olympic Park pool.
The eight-day competition is Swimming Canada’s first non-trials national meet since 2019 and marks the first-ever Canadian championships combining junior and senior events.
A total of 633 swimmers and Para swimmers from 142 clubs across the country are competing in age groups ranging from 13-14 (women) and 14-15 (men) all the way up to the senior level.
Pool events run until Sunday, with preliminaries starting at 9:30 a.m. and finals at 5:30 p.m. daily. Open water races are set for Monday at the Olympic Rowing Basin.
DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS – JULY 27
In the first event of the evening, the men’s 800m final for 14 and 15-year-olds, Laon Kim of New Westminster, B.C., set a Canadian 13-14 age group record thanks to a time of eight minutes, 23.15 seconds. The 14-year-old from the Hyack Swim Club lowered the previous national mark of 8:25.83 set by Charlie Kwinter in 2019.
“I really thought before the race I would be able to get the national record,” said Kim, who opened the meet on Monday with a gold medal in the 400 free. “I hadn’t swum my 800 free for a very long time but I think it was more doable than the 1,500.”
In the next final, Yu Tong Wu from the Surrey Knights Swim Club claimed his third national title in three nights in the 16-18 age category, winning the 800 free in 8:16.31. Wu was joined on the podium by fellow Junior Pan Pacific Championships Canadian team members Quinn Matteis (8:18.17) and Lorne Wigginton (8:18.18).
“The original plan for me was to kind of use these championships as a training meet for international competition,” said Wu, who had previously triumphed in the 400 free on Monday and the 200 free on Tuesday. “In the 800, I wanted to hold off a little because I’m swimming the 200 butterfly later tonight.”
On the women’s side, Kamryn Cannings from the University of Calgary Swim Club won her third and fourth gold medals of the competition on Day 3. The 16-year-old took the 200 freestyle 15-17 title in 2:01.49, out-touching Junior Pan Pac teammates Elan Daley (2:01.76) and Christey Liang (2:01.84), and then helped the UCSC win the mixed 4×100 free open relay.
“The 200 free was such a good race. My competitors are amazing,” said Cannings, who was crowned earlier this week in the 100 fly (15-17) and the 4×100 medley relay (open). “I knew Elan would go out super fast in the first 50 so my plan was to catch her on the way back and that’s what I did. It went really well.”
Meanwhile, 16-year-old Alexanne Lepage of the Vernon Kokanee Swim Club pulled off an impressive feat by winning two national titles in a span of 20 minutes, first the women’s 50 breaststroke open in 32.01 and then the 15-17 age group 200 individual medley in 2:18.37.
“I’ve gotten used to swimming back-to-back races at regional meets so I just set it up well with my coach before, make sure I got a little bit in the warm-down pool in between,” Lepage said. “Just making sure I’m having fun with it. It’s fun to race.”
In Para swimming, Tokyo Paralympian Shelby Newkirk from the Saskatoon Lasers Swim Club clocked 1:22.46 in the women’s 100 backstroke final to triumph against a field that featured four of her teammates from the recent world championships in Portugal.
“It really was special to swim against so many of my worlds teammates,” said the 26-year-old from Saskatoon, who captured the world title in the 100 back S6 at Madeira 2022. “It’s been such a long season and I know we’re all really tired so I just wanted to have fun at this meet. So to be able to cheer on my teammates and swim side by side with them, as well as a number of newcomers, that’s been very exciting for sure.”
Below is a complete list of national champions from Day 3.
DAY 3 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS – JULY 27
Women
50 backstroke (Para multi-class): Nikita Ens, Saskatoon Lasers Swim Club, 1:11.12
100 backstroke (Para multi-class): Shelby Newkirk, Saskatoon Lasers Swim Club, 1:22.46
200 freestyle (13-14): Maxine Clark, University of Calgary Swim Club, 2:03.47
200 freestyle (15-17): Kamryn Cannings, University of Calgary Swim Club, 2:01.49
200 freestyle (18+): Brooklyn Douthwright, Club de Natation Bleu et Or, 1:59.90
50 breaststroke (Open): Alexanne Lepage, Vernon Kokanee Swim Club, 32.01
200 individual medley (13-14): Halle West, Manta Swim Club, 2:18.38
200 individual medley (15-17): Alexanne Lepage, Vernon Kokanee Swim Club, 2:18.37
200 individual medley (18+): Ashley McMillan, Greater Ottawa Kingfish Swim Club, 2:13.47
Men
50 backstroke (Para multi-class): Tyson Jacob, Les Loutres, 52.96
100 backstroke (Para multi-class): Tyson MacDonald, HPC-Quebec, 1:04.31
800 freestyle (14-15): Laon Kim, Hyack Swim Club, 8:23.15
800 freestyle (16-18): Yu Tong Wu, Surrey Knights Swim Club, 8:16.31
800 freestyle (19+): Benjamin Cote, Killarney Swim Club, 8:11.56
50 breaststroke (Open): Justice Migneault, University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, 28.34
200 butterfly (14-15): William H. Browne, unattached, 2:05.80
200 butterfly (16-18): Benjamin Loewen, Crest Swimming, 2:01.08
200 butterfly (19+): Michael Andrew Sava, Ramac Aquatic Club, 2:00.78
Mixed
4×100 freestyle relay (Open): University of Calgary Swim Club (Nathan Versluys, Kaycee Cannings, Richie Stokes, Kamryn Cannings), 3:37.13