Men's 50 Free
Richard Hortness (AMAC) added an individual event to his Olympic schedule, winning in 22.48-over the FINA B standard, meaning he will be the only man in the event in Beijing for Canada. Just missing his last shot at China, Matt Rose (IS) touched in 22.53 followed by Octavian Petre in 23.10. "I've been focusing on the 100 for a really long time,"e; said Hortness. "e;Coming into this meet, the last couple of weeks [I've thought] maybe something good could happen in the 50. I wasn't necessarily expecting this."
The event was open for the taking, with Canadian record holder Brent Hayden (UBCD) out of the race due to back pain. He withdrew from the 50 after a back spasm in the 100 free. "When I heard that last night," said Hortness, "it was a surprise. It's too bad that he wasn't able to race today. With him there, anything could have happened."
Men's 200IM
While Chad Murray (CASC) was out first at the 50, it quickly turned into a 3-man show with National record holder Brian Johns (UBCD), Keith Beavers (ROW) and Tobias Oriwol (PCSC) all battling it out for just 2 spots. All 3 men had already booked their trip to the Games, but all 3 wanted more. Beavers took the lead through the 100 and 150, but his free was no match for Johns' 27.61 free leg. Johns touched in 2:01.31 for the win, followed by Beavers in 2:01.51-just off the FINA A standard of 2:01.40. In for bronze was Oriwol in 2:02.43.
"The last 50 is one of my strengths,"e; said Johns, "e;especially off the last wall. It's really becoming a sport of 'who can do the best underwater kick.' You watch people like Phelps and Lochte who can do that off every wall and it's one of the things I've worked on, to close the gap."
Heading into his 3rd Olympics, Johns is one of the leaders of both his UBCD team and the National team. "One of my big things about being a leader on the team is making sure that everybody swims as fast as possible, and hopefully I did that on the days I had off. I'm supportive, mainly, if people are getting out of their rhythms helping them snap back, and leading by example. I try and tell swimmers that this is just another meet, but you're in an atmosphere for you to swim your best." Johns pre-race ritual of having his face away from the camera "is a way for him to relax and focus before my race. I am very intense."
Women's 50 Free
It's been 3 long years since Victoria Poon (CNPPO) went a best time, so her win tonight in a new Canadian record of 25.47 was more than just a lane for Beijing, it was about time. ";I can't be happier," said Poon through tears of joy. "The crowd is so amazing and it's my pool, so I was too hyper not to swim fast." In for silver was Erica Morningstar (CP) in 25.83, just off the FINA A cut and bronze went to 16 year old Hannah Riordan (CSL) in 25.96.
Remember the name Lindsay Seemann (NEW) because you'll probably be seeing a lot from this youngster in the future. After a 12 second drop in the 800 free to win silver in 8:37, all she had to do was mail-in the last 50 of this event to secure the win. Seemann took it out hard splitting 31.64, 1:04.55, 1:38.32 for a 2:12.06 and a trip to her first Olympic Games.
"I was amazed!" said Seemann with a huge grin. "I could see everybody behind me, so I was confident that I was going fast. I knew if I went out ahead, I'd have an advantage, so it was part of my plan. I've been dreaming of this since I watched the Olympics on TV in '04, but even before that I was dreaming of it."
In for silver was Liz Wycliffe in 2:13.80 and Kelly Stefanyshyn (UBCD) in 2:14.19.
Men's 1500 Free
This race was all about National record holder Ryan Cochrane (IS). Out in 3:54, he was 7:52 at the 800 and 9:53 at the 1000. While he looked like he was going to creep up to over 30.50s he never did, managing to hold on for a 4 second PB of 14:54.66.
After breaking the elusive 15 minute barrier last year, Cochrane has his sights set on another 10-15 second drop by the Games. "I was really happy with that. It sets me up for this summer. I would have liked to have been faster, but it's a best time so I can't complain." Cochrane thinks that getting used to the trials/finals format in the 1500 will drop some time as well as some work on his turns. "They were better in prelims," he said with a knowing smile. "I was totally focusing on them then, but tonight I was focusing more on the race. The crowd was amazing, which really make the race easier."
Men's 4x100 Medley Relay
With the top 12 teams from last year's Worlds taking the first 12 Olympic spots for the relay, Canada had to put up a fast time to compete for the remaining 4 spots after finishing out of the top 12 at Worlds. Donning the new LZR Racer, Jake Tapp, Mathieu Bois, Joe Bartoch and Joel Greenshields (stepping in for Brent Hayden) smashed the Canadian record set in 2003 by over 3 seconds with a 3:34.99. Tapp led out in 55.11, with Bois in a 1:00.29, Bartoch at 51.68 and Greenshields (who anchored several winning relays last weekend at NCAAs) in 47.91, which was over a second faster than he went earlier in the meet on his club relay, sans suit.
"The first time I wore the suit was this morning when I tried it on for fitting," said Greenshields. ";It took me half an hour to get it on! It's really different; going out felt easy and coming home I was the fastest I've been all weekend." Humbly he noted, "Obviously Brent would be on this relay and I hope he recovers for the Olympics because he gives an edge to this relay." But a 47.9, is not too shabby.
With reporting by Katharine Dunn