Canadian Olympian Rachel Nicol wins 100 breaststroke at Mel Zajac meet

VANCOUVER – Canadian Olympic swimmer Rachel Nicol won the women’s 100-metre breaststroke on Friday at the Mel Zajac Jr. International swim meet.

Nicol, from Lethbridge, Alta., finished the race in one minute 9.30 seconds to claim the victory. The 25-year-old was fifth in the distance in her first Olympic Games in Rio in 2016.

Bailey Herbert of the Canadian junior swim team was second in 1:09.56 and Kelsey Wog of Team Manitoba was third in 1:09.86.

A trio of Canadians also topped the podium in the women’s 200 freestyle with Mackenzie Padington of the Campbell River Killer Whales taking first place. Molly Gowans of B.C.’s Island Swim Club and Kyla Leibel of Canada’s junior team finished second and third, respectively.

Padington also took second place in the 400 individual medley, Leibel was third in the 50 butterfly, and Gowans took third place in the 200 backstroke.

Tristan Cote of Toronto’s Etobicoke Swimming won the men’s 400 individual medley and Carson Olafson of the University of British Columbia Swim Club took top spot in the men’s 200 freestyle.

Vancouver’s Markus Thormeyer, also with UBC, was third in the men’s 200 backstroke and Ruishen Yu of the Surrey Knights Swim Club in Surrey, B.C., was second in the men’s 100 breaststroke.