Canadian Nationals: Josh Liendo, Ilya Kharun Duel to Lead Night 2
Josh Liendo and Ilya Kharun are set to tussle in the men’s 100 butterfly at Canadian Swimming Trials Sunday night, the centerpiece of a busy evening of swimming.
Liendo led the way in morning prelims at Saanich Commonwealth Place in British Columbia, the national record holder going 51.25. That was .02 seconds ahead of Kharun. They’ll likely be out in front by themselves in Sunday night’s final, with the nearest Canadian a second back. The third finisher from prelims is Austrian Martin Espernberger, who went 51.81 but will be relegated to the B final as an international.
Several Olympians will be in action Sunday night, including Summer McIntosh. Fresh off her world record Saturday night in the 400 free on the first night of the six-day meet, McIntosh is the top seed in the 800 free. Her seed time is 8:09.86, which is her Canadian record in the event. Katie Ledecky lowered her world record to 8:04.12 in May. McIntosh is the top seed by more than 28 seconds.
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In the pool Sunday morning, Kylie Masse showed her form again by leading the way in the 100 backstroke in 27.51. Masse won the 100 back Saturday night.
The second-place battle may come down to Ingrid Wilm and Taylor Ruck. Wilm went 28.15 to Ruck’s 28.65. Ruck qualified for the 2025 World Championships in the 100 back by finishing second Saturday in the third-best time of her career. Wilm will be the more desperate to book a ticket to Singapore. Fourth and looking to play spoiler is teen Madison Kryger, who went 28.73. The A cut is 28.22.
A ripper of a race is set up for the men’s 50 back, with six swimmers within .28 seconds. Blake Tierney led the way in 25.48. He finished second to Cole Pratt in the 100 back Saturday. Pratt was fifth in the 50 prelims in 25.68.
In between is Benjamin Winterborn, who went 25.50. Parker Deshayes, third in the 100 back, tied for third with Finlay Knox at 25.57. The race is missing Canadian record holder Javier Acevedo. A trip to Singapore requires a time of 25.11.
Fresh off her win in the 200 breaststroke Saturday, Mary-Sophie Harvey led the way in the 100 fly. Her time of 58.40 led the way by nearly a second and is .07 off the Singapore automatic qualifying standard. Ella Jansen, who made Worlds in the 400 free behind McIntosh, continued her strong form by finishing second in 59.22. That’s .12 seconds ahead of teen Matea Gigovic, with mainstay Brooklyn Douthwright fourth. One down note is Penny Oleksiak going 1:00.76, good only for 10th and a B final spot.
The Sunday night session will include the men’s 1,500 free as well as the women’s 800.