logo
McIntosh sets Canadian record in 800M freestyle

McIntosh sets Canadian record in 800M freestyle

Yahooa day ago

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.
Advertisement
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.
Advertisement
'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.'
Advertisement
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.
Advertisement
'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.
Advertisement
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.
Advertisement
'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.
The Canadian Press

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Charlotte Metcalfe Pursues Olympics After Daunting Brain Injury
Charlotte Metcalfe Pursues Olympics After Daunting Brain Injury

Forbes

time43 minutes ago

  • Forbes

Charlotte Metcalfe Pursues Olympics After Daunting Brain Injury

Charlotte Metcalfe overcame a brain injury that coincided with her silver medal lift at last fall's ... More World Championships. Her ultimate goal is the 2028 Olympics. Charlotte Metcalfe says that when she first got into competitive weightlifting, she was given some advice by her coaches. They told her, "Remove all emotional attachment to pain." 'That tells you everything I think you need to know about the sport,' Metcalfe joked. The 21-year-old English powerlifter took that advice, along with other bits of weightlifting wisdom on everything from nutrition to the intensity and consistency of her workouts last year, as she prepared for the Global Powerlifting Committee (GPC) World Championships in Slovakia. Little did Metcalfe know that she wasn't just powering through pain, but had something else going on in her body. Alongside the usual burn and muscle ache after her daily routine of squats and deadlifts, Metcalfe said she felt unusual symptoms and some fatigue that just didn't feel right. Just a month before Slovakia, Metcalfe hit her head on a barbell at her local gym, initially thinking her injury was nothing to worry about. 'Weightlifting is definitely taxing,' Metcalfe said, over our recent Zoom interview. 'Each lift that you do temporarily increases intracranial pressure.' But Metcalfe said that weightlifting, just like bodybuilding and martial arts, present 'so many risks' that athletes sometimes can become desensitized. The symptoms came at different times after hitting her head, but eventually got worse. Soon enough, the pain became unbearable. Metcalfe explained that while training further, her spatial awareness started to become 'awful.' And despite experiencing recurring headaches and bouts of fatigue, she chose to compete and flew out to the continent anyway. There, on the first weekend of October, Metcalfe went on to win a silver medal at the GPC World Championships. As it turned out, the English powerlifter suffered a brain injury just weeks before that major competition. Unaware of her condition, Metcalfe had suffered a potentially deadly subarachnoid haemorrhage, or bleeding on and around her brain. 'It was a matter of risk, but does the risk outweigh the opportunities?' she said she thought at the time. Now, looking back, she feels that her decision to try to ignore her headache was a misstep. In March 2025, during an interview with the Manchester Evening News, Metcalfe went so far as to call her choice to compete 'a mistake that almost killed me.' The remedy for her brain injury entailed spending an initial 16 hours in a hospital for standard neurological tests. Thereafter, she was sent home to rest, spending the next two weeks in bed before having a follow-up brain scan. Another thing that may have led to her brain injury, she said, is the fact that over the years she had eight prior concussions. She felt that they were definitely a factor. 'Typically, when injured, I adapt,' Metcae added. 'I train around it, shift focus, and keep going. If it's upper, I train lower. But the brain injury stopped everything.' Despite her efforts to continue training and reclaim some normalcy, Metcalfe said that a terrifying episode after a 573-pound leg press forced her to stop. And when she could not lift, Metcalfe explained, 'For the first time, I felt like an athlete without a sport.' At the World Championships, Metcalfe saw a competitor achieve a 100kg deadlift and decided to push herself beyond her normal limits. Drained and in pain, and again feeling a fatigue like she'd never felt before, Metcalfe pulled off a personal best of 112.5 kg and won the silver medal in the 2024 World Championships. Metcalfe poses with her silver medal after the 2024 GPC Weightlifting World Championships in Trnava, ... More Slovakia. Despite her risky gambit, Metcalfe, who is studying to be an attorney at the University of Law in Manchester, England, admits that her sport has helped her through some of the most difficult times of her life. 'I always loved combat sports, mixed martial arts like Muay Thai, and my weightlifting came from that," Metcalfe explained. "But as a sport, weightlifting forces you to be present. It was a very grounded move for me.' Once she began a lifting routine for strength and personal fitness, she quickly moved to powerlifting at the end of 2023. Metcalfe said she took up Olympic-style lifting the following summer, and in the mix soon established an impressive set of personal bests, and others started to take notice. 'One of the guys at my gym asked me if I had ever considered competing. Up to then, I hadn't really thought about it.' Acknowledging the risks she took last fall, Metcalfe said she hopes others will be more cautious and urges young athletes to take head injuries seriously. Now, several months after her second-place finish and dealing with post-concussion syndrome, Metcalfe explained that she's altered her weightlifting and fitness routines, as well as her self-care and nutrition. As a law student, Metcalfe is set to finish law school in 2026 and find gainful employment as a barrister, a role akin to a litigation attorney, as it's called in the U.S. After being 'called to the bar,' Metcalfe plans to start her work immediately. 'I'll be 24 for (the 2028 Olympics in) L.A. Typically, weightlifters can be in their prime into their late twenties and thirties. I'll plan to be doing full-time law, and full-time weightlifting,' Metcalfe said, 'for the next five to eight years.' And yet, Metcalfe has another big goal on the horizon: making Great Britain's 2028 Olympic team. She said that to prepare for the Olympic trials, she will shift her focus from powerlifting, which emphasizes maximal strength in the squats and deadlifts, to Olympic-style weightlifting, which focuses on explosive power, speed, and technical skill, primarily through two main lifts: the snatch and the clean and jerk. Along the way, Metcalfe plans to vie for a spot in the upcoming Commonwealth Games, which take place next year, from July 23 to August 2, 2026. Fellow Team GB powerlifter, Roza De Oliveira, who competed alongside Metcalfe at last fall's World Championships, thinks his teammate has what it takes to compete at the highest level. De Oliveira says Metcalfe possesses the right skillset for the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics, and describes her in the following way: 'Truly believes in her own capabilities and will never second-guess herself in the process. Always consistent in her character. Filled with confidence.' 'It's not just the discipline or integrity,' De Oliveira concludes, 'but (her) refusing to compromise on who she is, no matter how hard it gets.'

One year from World Cup opener, FIFA leaves questions unanswered on tickets and security
One year from World Cup opener, FIFA leaves questions unanswered on tickets and security

Associated Press

timean hour ago

  • Associated Press

One year from World Cup opener, FIFA leaves questions unanswered on tickets and security

NEW YORK (AP) — A year from the largest World Cup ever, there has been no announcement on general ticket sales, prices for most seats, location of a draw or security arrangements as FIFA has mostly avoided disclosing details of an event set for 16 stadiums across the United States, Mexico and Canada. There is uncertainty about whether fans from some nations will be welcome — 11 of the venues are located in the U.S., where all matches will be played from the quarterfinals on. Security is a concern, too. At the last major soccer tournament in the U.S., the 2024 Copa America final at Miami Gardens, Florida, started 82 minutes late after spectators breached security gates. 'That was certainly a reminder and a wake-up call if anybody needed it that those types of things are going to be used in terms of the ultimate assessment of whether this World Cup is successful,' said former U.S. defender Alexi Lalas, now Fox's lead soccer analyst. U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban on citizens from 12 nations exempted athletes, coaches, staff and relatives while not mentioning fans. Vice President JD Vance made what could be interpreted as a warning on May 6. 'Of course everybody is welcome to come and see this incredible event. I know we'll have visitors probably from close to 100 countries. We want them to come. We want them to celebrate. We want them to watch the game,' he said. 'But when the time is up they'll have to go home. Otherwise they'll have to talk to Secretary Noem,' he added, speaking alongside Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. Back in U.S. for first time in 32 years The 1994 World Cup sparked the launch of Major League Soccer with 12 teams in 1996, and $50 million in World Cup profits seeded the U.S. Soccer Foundation, tasked with developing the sport's growth. MLS now has 30 teams, plays in 22 soccer specific stadiums and has club academies to grow the sport and improve talent. Next year's tournament will include 104 games, up from 64 from 1998 through 2022, and the 11 U.S. stadiums are all NFL homes with lucrative luxury suites and club seating. It also will be the first World Cup run by FIFA without a local organizing committee. 'The legacy initiative of 2026 is around how we ensure that soccer is everywhere in this county,' U.S. Soccer Federation CEO JT Batson said. 'How do we ensure that every American can walk, ride their bike or take public transit to a safe place to play soccer? How do we make it to where every school in America has soccer accessible to their students? And how do we make it to wherever every American can truly see themselves in the game?' Interest in soccer has vastly increased in the U.S., with England's Premier League averaging 510,000 viewers per match window on NBC's networks last season and the European Champions League final drawing more than 2 million viewers in each of the past five years on CBS. However, CBS broadcast just 26 of 189 Champions League matches on TV in 2024-25 and streamed the rest. MLS drew about 12.2 million fans last year, second to 14.7 million in 2023-24 for the Premier League's 20 teams, but MLS has largely disappeared from broadcast TV since starting a 10-year contract with Apple TV+ in 2023. Apple spokesman Sam Citron said the company does not release viewer figures. In a fractured television landscape, different deals were negotiated by FIFA, UEFA, MLS, the NWSL, the USSF and the five major European leagues. 'You basically have over 2,800 game windows per season aired in the United States and so that requires distribution largely on streaming platforms like Paramount+ or ESPN+, but it's difficult for new fan adoption and it makes reach kind of challenging,' said Gerry Cardinale, managing partner of RedBird Capital Partners, which holds controlling interests in AC Milan and Toulouse and owns a non-controlling stake of Fenway Sports Group, parent of Liverpool. 'Kids today are getting weaned on Premier League football and Serie A football, and when you watch that as a product, it's hard for MLS to compete.' 1994 World Cup set attendance record The 1994 World Cup, a 24-nation tournament, drew a record 3.58 million fans for 52 matches. Ticket prices ranged from $25-$75 for most first round games and $180-$475 for the final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. FIFA, which has about 800 people working at an office in Coral Gables, Florida, says it will announce information on general tickets in the third quarter. It wouldn't say whether prices will be fixed or variable. Hospitality packages are available on FIFA's website through On Location. For the eight matches at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, including the final on July 19, prices range from $25,800 to $73,200 per person. Variable ticket pricing possible FIFA appears to be using variable pricing for this year's Club World Cup, played at 12 U.S. stadiums from June 14 to July 13, and some prices repeatedly have been slashed. Marriott Bonvoy, a U.S. Soccer Federation partner, has been offering free tickets to some of its elite members. Asked about Club World Cup ticket sales and team base camp arrangements, Manolo Zubiria, the World Cup's chief tournament officer, hung up four minutes and five questions into a telephone interview with The Associated Press. Brendan O'Connell, the publicist who arranged the interview, wrote in an email to the AP: 'The guest was not prepared for those questions.' FIFA's media relations staff would not make FIFA president Gianni Infantino available to discuss the tournament. Ahead of the 1994 World Cup, FIFA announced in May 1992 the draw would take place at Las Vegas on Dec. 18 or 19, 1993. FIFA has not revealed plans for this year's draw but appears to be planning for Las Vegas on Dec. 5. Regular ticket sales began in February 1993 for the U.S. soccer family and general first- and second-round sales started that June. Fans submitted lottery applications in October 1993 for games from the quarterfinals on. Teams could train away from World Cup cities While not detailing ticketing plans for next year's tournament, FIFA is spreading it beyond the host cites and lists about 60 possible base camps for teams to use, paired with hotels. Some are fancy — The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia — and some more Spartan — the Courtyard by Marriott Mesa at Wrigleyville West in Arizona. Thousands of arrangements must be coordinated. Major League Baseball is drawing up its schedule to ensure that the four teams whose ballparks share parking lots with World Cup stadiums — in Arlington, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Philadelphia; and Seattle — won't play home games on the dates of tournament matches. Boris Gartner, CEO of La Liga North America, a joint venture of the Spanish soccer league and Relevent Sports, said the 2026 World Cup should be viewed as just another step in the sport's long-term growth in the United States. 'If you have a clear understanding of the market and the audience, a clear understanding of the value that these properties bring to media companies, and you mix content with a commercial strategy, with the right media distribution strategy, this is something that will continue to grow over the next two decades,' he said. 'If more people are watching the NWSL, more people are going to be interested in soccer that could potentially end up watching a Bundesliga game or La Liga game.' ___ AP soccer:

Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk's talks Game 3 chaos: 'If you have to take a punch in the face, take it'
Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk's talks Game 3 chaos: 'If you have to take a punch in the face, take it'

Fox News

timean hour ago

  • Fox News

Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk's talks Game 3 chaos: 'If you have to take a punch in the face, take it'

Matthew Tkachuk is no stranger to fighting on the main stage. In arguably the biggest hockey game in years, Tkachuk, as a member of Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off, dropped the gloves against Team Canada right at the opening faceoff. Late Monday night, he found himself in yet another brouhaha, this one involving just about everyone on the ice for his Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers, both of which have other players involved in those USA-Canada fights. As Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final got out of hand (the Panthers walloped Edmonton, 6-1, to take a 2-1 series lead), things got chippy, and the Panthers knew it would likely get worse. Tkachuk, who has found himself in similar situations before, saw the writing on the wall and wanted his team prepared. "We talked about it in the third. If you have to take a punch in the face, take a punch in the face. If you have to take a cross-check, take a cross-check. Spear, slash in the face, whatever the case is, you've got to take it," Tkachuk said after the contest. At one point, Tkachuk took a share of punches to the face from Jake Walman - all while he was being held by John Klinberg. The game was already 5-1 in favor of Florida when things were getting more aggressive on the ice. It reached a different level when Edmonton forward Trent Federic started to pick on Sam Bennett (who fought Tkachuk's brother in that 4 Nations game) to the point where he cross-checked him down to the ice, and Bennett retaliated with some punches as he got on top of Federic. That initial fight led every player on the ice to find a partner to duel with, and the referees simply let the brawl play itself out. The Oilers' Darnell Nurse and the Panthers' Jonah Gadjovich clutched each other's sweaters and were throwing haymakers, while Florida's A.J. Greer dueled with Edmonton's Mattias Ekholm. After the fights fizzled out, Nurse, Godjovich, Bennett, Federic, Greer and Ekholm were all called for game misconducts and sent off the ice for the remainder of the game. However, with nearly half of the third period still to play, the tension between these two teams vying for the Lord Stanley's Cup did not stop. It mainly came from the Oilers, as Evander Kane was sent off the ice for the night after slashing Carter Verhaeghe in the face while he was down on the ice. More penalties would be had as the clock kept ticking down, and at that point, both teams were just hoping no one would get hurt with much of this series left to play. Even at the final buzzer, Oilers star Corey Perry started jousting with multiple Panthers players, as fans started throwing debris onto the ice. It was truly a statement win for the reigning champs, who have all types of momentum heading into Game 4 on Thursday night. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store