BARCELONA – The second leg of the Mare Nostrum races in Barcelona concluded with notable performances from Canadian swimmers, resulting in medal worthy finishes.

Ingrid Wilm had back-to-back gold medal finishes in both the 50-m and 100-m backstroke events, finishing the races with time of 27.76 and 1:00.02. She has now won a total of four medals on the tour after taking silver in the 50-m backstroke and bronze in 100-m backstroke just a week earlier in Canet.

Two Canadians stepped up onto the podium following the women’s 100-m butterfly event. Olympic champion Maggie Mac Neil completed the race with a time of 57.83, behind only Louise Hansson of Sweden. Club Aquatique Montreal athlete, Katerine Savard, was next to touch the wall with a time of 58.77.

“I love swimming the 100-m butterfly with Kat. We traveled all the way around the world just to swim next to each other but it’s always comforting swimming next to someone you know,” said MacNeil, a London Aquatic Club product.

Ella Jansen of the High Performance Centre – Ontario secured a Mare Nostrum medal after winning the women’s 400-m freestyle with a time of 4:08.28. Building on her achievements, the Burlington native placed third in the women’s 200-m freestyle clocking in with a personal best time of 1:58.09.

“I knew that the 200-m freestyle race was going to be really exciting with a lot of world class athletes,” said Jansen. “To get a best time makes me really happy and makes me feel confident going into Monaco and the rest of the summer.”

On the men’s side, Finlay Knox of the High Performance Centre – Ontario, swam to a bronze medal in the 200-m individual medley in a time of 1:59.12. This would be the first medal for him on the tour after coming off 2023 Australian National Championships earlier this month.

On the opening day of races in Barcelona, Penny Oleksiak made her long-awaited comeback after successfully rehabbing a knee injury and surgery. Oleksiak competed in the women’s 50-m butterfly and 100-m freestyle, and the team is thrilled to see the seven-time Olympic medalist return to racing for the first time since the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest last July.

“It was great to see Penny race for the first time this season, getting off the blocks here in Barcelona,” said John Atkinson, Swimming Canada’s high performance director and national coach. “She will work with her coaches to move forward as we go through the rest of this tour and build towards the summer,”

Swimmers now look ahead to the third and final leg of the Mare Nostrum tour taking place in Monaco on May 20.

For more information about the 2023 Mare Nostrum Swim Tour, including live results, visit:

https://marenostrumswimtour.com/