Canadian swimming trials: 3 battles to watch
Can Hilary Caldwell hold off Dominique Bouchard in the women’s 200m backstroke?
The Canadian Olympic and Para-swimming trials in Toronto won't only produce several athletes heading to the Rio Games this summer, but the event should feature some heated battles.
In a nutshell, all individual swimmers finishing first or second in each event and who meet the Olympic qualifying time will clinch an Olympic berth.
With that in mind, here are three battles to watch this week:
1. Women's 100 butterfly
Katerine Savard had a stellar Pan Am Games, winning three medals, along with gold in the women's 4x100-metres freestyle. But the 22-year-old from Pont-Rouge, Que., needs to be leery of two countrywomen: Noemie Thomas (Richmond, B.C.) and Penny Oleksiak (Toronto). Thomas beat Savard last summer, and Oleskiak is a rising star who's expected to make her Olympic impact at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Showdown @ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rio2016?src=hash">#Rio2016</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamCanada?src=hash">#TeamCanada</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Swimming?src=hash">#Swimming</a> trials 100m women's fly; Penny Oleksiak, Noemie Thomas, Katerine Savard prelims all under 58 secs
—@whoever1980Women's 200 backstroke
Hilary Caldwell brings a certain amount of pedigree to the event. The 25-year-old from White Rock, B.C., captured gold at the Pan Am Games in Toronto last summer, and also collected a 2013 bronze medal from the world championships. However, it was Dominique Bouchard who finished second to Caldwell at the Pan Ams, and is looking to unseat her compatriot this time around.
Men's 100 freestyle
There is little doubt Santo Condorelli will easily win and qualify for the 100 freestyle. The question is whether up-and-coming Yuri Kisil will join him. Not only does the Vancouver swimmer need to finish in the top two, but he also needs to complete an Olympic qualifying time of 48.99 seconds – a mark he has yet to achieve.
Swimming trials on CBCSports.ca
(Finals begin daily at 7 p.m. ET)
Tuesday
- 400 IM (men); 400 freestyle (women); 100 breaststroke (men) 100 butterfly (women); 200 freestyle (men); Para-50 freestyle; Para-200 freestyle; Para-400 freestyle.
Wednesday
- 200 butterfly (men); 100 backstroke (women); 100 backstroke (men); 400 IM (women); Para-100 breaststroke; Para-50 breaststroke.
Thursday
- 200 freestyle (women); 400 freestyle (men); 100 breaststroke (women); 200 breaststroke (men); Para-200 IM; Para-150 IM.
Friday
- 200 butterfly (women); 100 freestyle (men); 200 IM (women); Para-100 butterfly; Para-50 butterfly.
Saturday
- 100 butterfly (men); 100 freestyle (women); 200 backstroke (men); 200 breaststroke (women); 800 freestyle (women); Para-100 backstroke; Para-50 backstroke.
Sunday
- 50 freestyle (women); 50 freestyle (men); 200 backstroke (women); 200 IM (men); 1,500 4x100 medley (men); 4x200 freestyle (men); Para-100 freestyle.