McIntosh sets Canadian record in 800M freestyle

VICTORIA — Two Canadian Olympic medallists went head-to-head in a nail-biting 100-metre butterfly race, while Summer McIntosh of Toronto set a Canadian record in the 800-metre freestyle on Sunday at the Bell Canadian Swimming Trials in Victoria.

Ilya Kharun of Montreal and Josh Liendo of Toronto squared off in the same race that saw them share a podium at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Kharun won in a personal best time of 50.37 seconds, touching the wall .09 ahead of Liendo. Both were well under the AQUA A qualifying time of 51.77 for this summer’s world championships in Singapore.

The 20-year-old Kharun was happy with the win but sees room for improvement.

“There’s definitely some tweaks I can improve on,” said Kharun. “I know it’s not perfect yet. There’s some things we’ve got to work on.” Liendo took silver in Paris, and Kharun the bronze. It was the first time two Canadian men stood on the Olympic podium together and first double podium for Swimming Canada since 1976 (Cheryl Gibson, Becky Smith — silver and bronze 400IM).

McIntosh had a sellout crowd on its feet at Saanich Commonwealth Place cheering as she swam the 800 metres in 8:05.07. That shaved almost five seconds off her own Canadian record and was the third-fastest time ever, 0.95 of a second off the world record American legend Katie Ledecky set in May.

“I’m always hoping to break records and push the boundaries of sport,” said the 18-year-old, who set a world record in the 400-metre freestyle on Saturday’s opening night.

“I’m always trying to be faster and faster. That just gives me more fuel to the fire.”

Para swimmer Nicholas Bennett won his second event of the trials. The S14 swimmer with the Red Deer Catalina Swim Club won the men’s 200-m multi-class freestyle event in 1:54.44. He earned a silver medal in the same race at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

“It was really good,” said the 21-year-old from nearby Parksville, B.C., who won the men’s 100-m multi-class breaststroke Saturday. “We’re right where we want to be.”

Kylie Masse of Lasalle, Ont., also picked up her second victory of the meet by winning the 50-m backstroke in 27.24 seconds. Ingrid Wilm of the High Performance Centre-Vancouver celebrated her 27th birthday by finishing second in 27.58.

Both swimmers were under the AQUA A qualifying time of 28.22.

“I’ve been enjoying doing it and putting a little more focus on it this year,” Masse said about the sprint race, in which she was the 2022 world champion. “Every little detail counts, trying to execute it perfectly. It’s really fast and really hard.”

Earning a spot on the world championships team helped Wilm shake off the disappointment of finishing third in the 100-back Saturday night. That meant she didn’t qualify for the event for the upcoming world championships after reaching the finals at the Paris Olympics.

“I was frustrated after (Saturday) night,” said the Calgary native. “It’s to my chagrin we have such a deep field here in Canada. I relied a lot on my teammates and my coaching staff and it just once again showed me just how many people have my back.”

It was a bittersweet victory for Blake Tierney in the men’s 50-m backstroke. The Saskatoon native who trains at the High Performance Centre-Vancouver won the race in personal best time of 25.23 seconds. That was over the AQUA A qualifying time of 25.11 but under Swimming Canada’s secondary standard of 25.36.

“A lot of work needs to be done,” said Tierney, who has been dealing with an ankle issue. “I couldn’t do a lot of kicking, so that kind of messed with the confidence. I’m just doing the best I can. I’m really thankful I made the team.”

Two-time Olympian Mary-Sophie Harvey of Trois-Rivières, Que., also won her second race of the meet but wasn’t happy with her time.

Harvey, who trains with Montreal’s CAMO club, won the 100-m butterfly in 58.37 seconds, over the AQUA A qualifying time of 58.33 but under Swimming Canada’s secondary time of 59.91.

“I’m going to be honest,” said Harvey, who won the 200 breaststroke Saturday. “It was good practice for my individual medley.”

Montreal’s Eric Brown won the 1,500-m freestyle in 15:17.54. That was over both the AQUA A time of 15:01.89 and the Swimming Canada secondary standard of 15:10.91.

In other Para swimming events, Reid Maxwell, an S8 Para swimmer from the Edmonton Keyano Swim Club, won the multi-class 400-m freestyle in 4:26.66. It was the same event in which the 17-year-old won a silver medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in Canadian record time.

“It was a little slower than I wanted but I can’t complain,” said Maxwell. “I gave it everything I had.”

Mary Jibb, an S9 swimmer from the Pacific Sea Wolves won the multi-class 400-m freestyle in 4:52.69.

Emma Van Dyk, an S14 swimmer from the Brock Niagara Aquatics, was first in the women’s 200-m multi-class freestyle in 2:23.78. Aly van Wyck-Smart, an S3 swimmer from Whitby Swimming, finished second in a Canadian record time of 4:48.05.

During the morning heats S4 swimmer Jordan Tucker of Royal City Aquatics set a Canadian record of 4:03.87 in the S4 category.

“I’m blown away,” said Tucker. “I’m very surprised but very hopeful I can keep breaking records.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 8, 2025.