Swim strategy a priority for Josh Liendo, Maggie Mac Neil as they prep for world championships
Canadians sweep to victory in every race they competed in at Vancouver event
Canadian swimming stars Olympic champion Maggie Mac Neil and world champion Josh Liendo have continued their winning ways in the pool ahead of next month's world championships.
Mac Neil and Liendo were among hundreds of other swimmers – including Canadian teammates Jeremy Bagshaw, James Dergousoff, Collyn Gagne, Hugh McNeil and Emma O'Croinin – competing at the 58th annual Mel Zajac Jr. International meet at the UBC Aquatics Centre in Vancouver this weekend.
Mac Neil and Liendo competed in a combined eight events between the two of them — they were both on top of the podium in all eight races.
Liendo, 20, is coming off a breakout NCAA season in Florida as a freshman and started the meet with two victories on Friday night. The Markham, Ont., native posted a winning time of 23.99 in the 50m fly before swimming to gold in the 200m free in 1:50.53.
"The body is hurting a little bit but that's just how in-season racing is. I wanted to be a little faster in the 200m free. I don't think I swam it the way I wanted to in the final," Liendo said.
"I'm just trying to go fast all the time no matter how I feel. I'm happy with how I'm racing and doing all these events during the season."
Liendo became the first Black Canadian swimmer to win a gold medal and a medal in an individual event for Canada at the 2021 short course world championships.
Last summer at the long course world championships in Budapest, Liendo captured bronze in the 100m free and in the 100m fly. He broke the Canadian record in the 50-m freestyle and finished fifth.
Liendo is using this weekend's meet in Vancouver as a final tuneup for worlds next month in Japan. On Saturday night, Liendo won the 100m fly event in 51.97, breaking the meet record of 52.45 held by American great Caeleb Dressel.
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Liendo then capped off his final swim on Saturday with another win, posting the fastest time of 22.33 to win the 50m free.
"This meet is all about race strategy," he said. "It's good prep and I'll be executing things on the big stage. The atmosphere here is awesome. The pool is great. The weather is nice. I love being here. I'm having a great time here."
Liendo finished the meet Sunday evening with a scintillating performance in the 100m free final. He took down Brent Hayden's 14-year meet record in a time of 49.02 to win his fifth gold medal at the event.
Mac Neil unfazed by delays
Olympic champion Maggie Mac Neil was supposed to arrive at the meet ahead of Friday's competition, but 33 hours of travel – mostly due to flight delays – kept her from arriving in time to compete on the first day.
Unfazed, Mac Neil jumped into the deep end of the action in the prelims early on Saturday and go on to win all three finals she raced in on Saturday night.
Mac Neil raced to gold in the 50m back in a time of 28.33, the 50m free in a time of 25.30 and then set a meet record in the 100m fly in a time of 57.70.
"This is my last meet before worlds. I'm playing with my strategy and testing stroke rates and testing my underwater kick rates," she said.
"It was about experimenting."
And it was also about managing time and travel issues – something that can happen at any point when going to international meets.
"Traveling is always a challenge. I had a five-hour delay last week. And then getting here. It's learning how to manage time and not let it affect my training. It's really good practice for when we go."
Mac Neil has been busy outside of the pool as well, juggling end of semester exams. Just over a year ago Mac Neil spoke exclusively to CBC Sports about post-Olympic blues she was battling, expressing she was struggling with the expectations and pressure.
Since taking last summer's individual events off at worlds to give herself some space to prioritize her mental health, Mac Neil has been thriving.
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She focused on relays at worlds in Budapest last year and captured silver as a member of the 4×100m freestyle relay and earned bronze in the 4×100m medley relay. A few months later, Mac Neil won gold and broke the Commonwealth Games record in the 100m fly at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Mac Neil was back on a plane Sunday, completing one full day of competition on Saturday at the Mel Zajac Jr. meet before leaving to get in one last block of training ahead of worlds.
"I'm just hoping to get a final push in. There's been a lot of traveling and training and I was busy wrapping up school. Now it's about swimming and focusing on recovery and getting ready for worlds," she said.
Mac Neil and Liendo are among 30 Canadian swimmers heading to the world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, with competition beginning July 23.
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