Wilm, Wu win second national title in two nights at Canadian Championships
News –
MONTREAL – The 2022 Speedo Canadian Junior and Senior Swimming Championships continued on Tuesday at Montreal’s Olympic Park pool, with 21 titlists crowned on Day 2.
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 next Monday at the Olympic Rowing Basin.
DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS – JULY 26
The second night of the championships featured a number of highly competitive 100m backstroke finals.
Ingrid Wilm from the Cascade Swim Club, the only female member of Canada’s 2022 world championship pool team competing in Montreal, claimed her second gold medal in two nights thanks to a personal best time of 59.47 seconds in the women’s senior race.
“I was honestly just going into it looking for a best time and I was able to do that,” said the 24-year-old from Calgary. “I’m trying to get up to a level where I’m competitive with Kylie (Masse) so that I can go to more teams with her and try to help Team Canada on the international stage. I’m happy to finish my 100 back season with that race.”
In the women’s 15-17 age group, Katelyn Schroeder from the Langley & Abbotsford Olympians was crowned in 1:01.65. The 16-year old edged Jordan Greber (1:03.04) of the Grande Prairie Piranhas, who will be her teammate next month at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Hawaii.
“I just really like racing those girls,” said Schroeder. “After our camp in Vancouver, we got super comfortable with each other. Gaining those friendships as well as being competitive has been awesome. I love having them push me harder in practice and races.”
Also in the 100 back, on the men’s side, 16-year-old Aiden Norman from the University of Calgary Swim Club clocked 57.21 to win the 16-18 age group title. Norman, silver medallist Loïc Fortin Courville of CAMO (57.29) and third-place finisher Tristan Jankovics (57.94) from the Wellington County Waves are all set to compete at the upcoming Junior Pan Pacs.
“It was so much fun. I love this pool,” Norman said. “I felt like this was a real experience. I could almost see everyone next to me the whole race. I’m so glad to be here.”
Also claiming his second gold medal of the meet on Day 2 was Yu Tong Wu from the Surrey Knights Swim Club, who won the men’s 200 freestyle 16-18 age group in 1:51.24. Wu had three teammates from the Junior Pan Pacs squad in the race, including silver and bronze medallists Victor Dagenais of CAMO (1:53.32) and Lorne Wigginton of the University of Calgary Swim Club (1:53.55).
“It feels great. As I said last night, it’s nice to be able to race against my teammates,” said Wu. “I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t able to break my best time but I have plenty of time to do that.”
In Para swimming, Tokyo Paralympian Angela Marina from the Brantford Aquatic Club captured gold in the women’s 200 free multi-class final with a time of 2:16.79. The race included no less than six athletes who represented Canada at the Madeira 2002 Worlds in June.
“I’m pretty happy with my race,” said Marina, who placed sixth in the 200 free S14 in Tokyo and 10th in Madeira. “My three splits were really close and I haven’t done that in a long, long time. It’s also the fastest I’ve gone this season so that’s all I could ask for.”
Below is a complete list of national champions from Day 2.
DAY 2 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS – JULY 26
Women
200 freestyle (Para multi-class): Angela Marina, Brantford Aquatic Club, 2:16.79
400 freestyle (Para multi-class): Abi Tripp, Club de Natation Région de Québec, 5:21.30
100 backstroke (13-14): Sienna Rodgers, University of Calgary Swim Club, 1:04.57
100 backstroke (15-17): Katelyn Schroeder, Langley & Abbotsford Olympians, 1:01.65
100 backstroke (18+): Ingrid Wilm, Cascade Swim Club, 59.47
100 breaststroke (13-14): Halle West, Manta Swim Club, 1:11.64
100 breaststroke (15-17): Danika Ethier, Greater Ottawa Kingfish Swim Club, 1:10.42
100 breaststroke (18+): Kathryn Ivanov, London Aquatic Club, 1:10.49
400 freestyle (13-14): Ella Cosgrove, unattached, 4:20.94
400 freestyle (15-17): Emma Finlin, Edmonton Keyano Swim Club, 4:16.98
400 freestyle (18+): Emma O’Croinin, University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, 4:15.57
4×100 medley relay (Open): University of Calgary Swim Club 1 (Sienna Rodgers, Maxine Clark, Alicia L’Archeveque, Kamryn Cannings), 4:12.86
Men
200 freestyle (Para multi-class): Tyson MacDonald, HPC-Quebec, 2:07.46
400 freestyle (Para multi-class): Zach Zona, HPC-Quebec, 5:00.94
100 backstroke (14-15): Paul Orogo, Hyack Swim Club, 58.37
100 backstroke (16-18): Aiden Norman, University of Calgary Swim Club, 57.21
100 backstroke (19+): Blake Tierney, University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, 55.39
200 freestyle (14-15): William H. Browne, unattached, 1:53.34
200 freestyle (16-18): Yu Tong Wu, Surrey Knights Swim Club, 1:51.24
200 freestyle (19+): Cale Murdock, Williams Lake Blue Fins, 1:52.13
4×100 medley relay (Open): Simon Fraser Aquatics 1 (Jayden Cole, Amar Fejzic, Kyuhyun Cho, Leo Fath), 3:47.61