The finals began with a replay of last night: another 100 backstroke final. But this time was a swim-off pitting Jake Tapp of Langley, BC against 2000 Olympian Rob Taylor of Brampton, Ontario. They'd tied in FINA-B time, and both had to swim faster than the FINA-A standard, 55.14, to make it on the team. Neither made the time, but Tapp won in 55.16 over Taylor's 55.44, good enough to qualify.
"I was very nervous and I had lots of adrenaline during the final last night, but tonight was double that. I think that's what gave me the edge," said Tapp afterwards.
In the women's 200 freestyle, Toronto's Julia Wilkinson set her third Canadian record of the meet, pushing from behind to win in 1:58.73. She set two national marks yesterday in heats and then finals of the 100 backstroke. Montreal's Genevieve Saumur, who led the race from the start, died a bit in the last 25, but her time (1:59.22) was also under the FINA-A cut and the former record, swum by Sophie Simard from 2005.
"This morning I was really tired, coming down from that 100 back," said Wilkinson. "I didn't have my coffee this morning, and I did tonight, so that probably helped."
Rounding out the top four and qualifying for the women's 4x200 freestyle relay were Beaconsfield's Stephanie Horner (1:59.65), who won the 400 freestyle last night, and Erica Morningstar (2:00.58).
Next, Calgary's Adam Sioui took down an eight-year-old national record in the men's 200 butterfly, finishing in 1:57.98, a tenth under the mark held by Shamek Pietucha. (Sioui missed the team by three tenths in 2000, placing second behind Pietucha.) Sioui, who made the relay in the 200 freestyle last night, made the Olympics but not the FINA-A cut (1:57.67), one of the toughest of the meet. Nearly 20 men in the world have swum under 1:57 in the 200 fly since January.
Though the Canadian field certainly isn't as grueling as what he'll face in Beijing, Sioui, who graduated from the University of Florida, took nothing for granted tonight. "It's tough to fool around," he said. "Canada's getting so much better in swimming, and we have a lot more depth now, so definitely I just want to put my hand on the wall first." The second-place finisher, Montreal's Tobias Oriwol, swam 1:59.54, not fast enough to qualify for the team.
Calgary's Mike Brown broke his three-year-old national mark in the 200 breaststroke, swimming 2:11.01, two tenths under the old mark. Montreal's Mathiew Bois, who beat Brown in the 100 breast, was second in 2:12.75, also under the FINA-A cut.
"It's been a long three years [since I broke the national record]. Of course it was 11.01, it couldn't be 10.99," said Brown, smiling after his win. "I'll take it for now. I definitely want to get down to 10 if not 9 at the Olympics. This boosts my confidence a lot. At the Olympic level, that's what wins you the races, your confidence. I've got that back. I'm excited, I'm happy, I'm ready to go."