Latest news with #2024OlympicGames
Hamilton Spectator
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
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. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Winnipeg Free Press
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
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.
IOL News
3 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Embracing the role of a veteran: Onthatile Zulu looks ahead to the Nations Cup
South Africa's Onthatile Zulu will bring her experience from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to the SA squad that will take part in the FIH Nations Cup 2 in Poland later this month. | AFP Image: Juien de Rosa/AFP SA hockey star Onthatile Zulu is looking forward to her first big tournament experience since the Paris Olympics, as she embraces her role as one of the veterans in a young national team brimming with exciting talent. The SA women's national hockey team is gearing up for the FIH Women's Hockey Nations Cup 2 tournament in Poland from June 16 to 22 that includes Uruguay, Malaysia and hosts Poland. It is a platform for emerging national teams to showcase their talent on the international stage, with the opportunity to gain promotion to the FIH Nations Cup. 'Preparations are going well. Although I haven't been centralised with the team, playing league games weekly and training have helped me prepare physically and mentally,' said the 25-year-old hockey player who is based in Cape Town. 'I'm excited to head to an international competition, especially since the last big tournament dynamic I experienced was at the Olympic Games in Paris last year.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading That was a second Olympic Games, the other being Tokyo, for a player whose storied hockey journey has also taken her to a World Cup and Commonwealth Games. 'The Olympic experience has elevated my game and experience. Competing against the best allows you to perform better and has greatly enhanced my knowledge of the game and tactics,' she said. She admits that being one of the senior members of the team brings with it extra responsibility, 'but the most important thing for me is to do my best for the team and lead by example on the field'. Her 64 caps is second only to Quanita Bobbs (180) in a squad where three players – Cerian Fourie, Daniela de Oliveira and Shanna Mendonca – will be in line to make their debuts. Three others have less than 20 caps. Fellow Paris 2024 Olympians such as Edith Molikoe, Hannah Pearce, Ntsopa Mokoena, and Ongeziwe Mali also add valuable experience to head coach Inky Zondi's team. Zulu fondly recalls the role players like Celia Seerane, Lilian du Plessis and Erin Christie played in supporting her as a young player coming through the ranks and is ready to pay it forward. 'I've learnt that nothing will be given to you; you need to work hard for the team to add value and contribute to its success. Playing with pride for my country is also a big lesson I aim to pass on,' she said. Hockey has been a significant part of Zulu's life since she first stepped onto the field at 6 years old, and she has been representing South Africa since 2019. Hockey star Onthatile Zulu is gearing up for the HYROX Cape Town race next month. Image: Red Bull
The Sun
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Epic Paris 2024 bronze medal rematch await Aaron-Wooi Yik in semis
KUALA LUMPUR: It will be Paris 2024 Olympic Games all over again. National men's doubles pair, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, are set to relive their Paris 2024 bronze medal match drama as they face top seeds Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen from Denmark in a mouthwatering Malaysia Masters 2025 semi-finals showdown at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil, here tomorrow. In the last eight tie today, the fifth-seeded Aaron-Wooi Yik overcame a nervy start, trailing 0-2 early, before shifting into top gear to blast past Denmark's seventh-seeded pair, Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard, with a commanding 21-10 win in the opening set. Down 15-18 in the second game, the 2022 world champions once again showed great resilience as they roared back by picking up three straight points to tie the score 18-18 and slammed the door shut for the Danes with a 21-19 win to book a place in the semis, much to the delight of the home crowd. On the other hand, the world number one pair Astrup-Rasmussen, who are also the Malaysia Masters defending champions, made their way to the last four as they ousted their compatriots, Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard, 21-16, 22-20. Commenting on the match, Aaron said they had moments of doubts in the second set, which caused them to trail a few times but glad to regain momentum and closed out the match. Asked on tomorrow's action, Wooi Yik expects another tough match despite having a good head-to-head record, winning eight out of 12 matches previously. 'We know each other well, it doesn't matter if we win or lose, it's all about how we control our game tomorrow,' he told reporters. Last August, Aaron-Wooi Yik defended their Olympic Games bronze medal for a second time in a row when they came from behind to beat the Astrup-Rasmussen, 16-21, 22-20, 21-19.
The Sun
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Aaron-Wooi Yik set Paris 2024 rematch in Masters semis
KUALA LUMPUR: It will be Paris 2024 Olympic Games all over again. National men's doubles pair, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, are set to relive their Paris 2024 bronze medal match drama as they face top seeds Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen from Denmark in a mouthwatering Malaysia Masters 2025 semi-finals showdown at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil, here tomorrow. In the last eight tie today, the fifth-seeded Aaron-Wooi Yik overcame a nervy start, trailing 0-2 early, before shifting into top gear to blast past Denmark's seventh-seeded pair, Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard, with a commanding 21-10 win in the opening set. Down 15-18 in the second game, the 2022 world champions once again showed great resilience as they roared back by picking up three straight points to tie the score 18-18 and slammed the door shut for the Danes with a 21-19 win to book a place in the semis, much to the delight of the home crowd. On the other hand, the world number one pair Astrup-Rasmussen, who are also the Malaysia Masters defending champions, made their way to the last four as they ousted their compatriots, Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard, 21-16, 22-20. Commenting on the match, Aaron said they had moments of doubts in the second set, which caused them to trail a few times but glad to regain momentum and closed out the match. Asked on tomorrow's action, Wooi Yik expects another tough match despite having a good head-to-head record, winning eight out of 12 matches previously. 'We know each other well, it doesn't matter if we win or lose, it's all about how we control our game tomorrow,' he told reporters. Last August, Aaron-Wooi Yik defended their Olympic Games bronze medal for a second time in a row when they came from behind to beat the Astrup-Rasmussen, 16-21, 22-20, 21-19.
