Ens lowers own Para swimming national record twice on Day 5 of Canadian Championships
MONTREAL – National champions were crowned in an additional 19 events on Friday as the 2022 Speedo Canadian Junior and Senior Swimming Championships continued at Montreal’s Olympic Park pool.
The eight-day competition is Swimming Canada’s first non-trials national meet since 2019 and marks the first-ever Canadian championships combining junior and senior events.
A total of 633 swimmers and Para swimmers from 142 clubs across the country are competing in age groups ranging from 13-14 (women) and 14-15 (men) all the way up to the senior level.
Pool events run until Sunday, with preliminaries starting at 9:30 a.m. and finals at 5:30 p.m. daily. Open water races are set for Monday at the Olympic Rowing Basin.
DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS – JULY 29
A pair of junior finals produced podiums made up entirely of swimmers set to represent Canada at next month’s Pan Pacific Championships in Hawaii.
In the men’s 200m backstroke for 16 to 18-year-olds, Loïc Courville Fortin from Club Aquatique Montréal posted a time of two minutes, 3.67 seconds to edge Aiden Norman from the University of Calgary Swim Club (2:03.89) and Tristan Jankovics from the Wellington County Waves (2:04.84). It was Courville Fortin’s second gold medal of the week after his triumph in the 50 back on Monday.
“It went really well. Maybe not the time I was hoping for, but I managed a solid last 50,” said Courville Fortin. “It was a lot of fun to swim with my Pan Pacs teammates in this final.”
In the women’s 100 freestyle 15-17 age group, Christey Liang from the Edmonton Keyano Swim Club clocked 55.98 to finish ahead of Elan Daley from HPC-Ontario (56.28) and Kamryn Cannings from the University of Calgary Swim Club (56.30). It marked Liang’s first win of the week.
“Going into it, I knew it was going to be tough. I raced those two girls in the 200 free. I was just really focused on racing and trying to put my hand on the wall first,” said Liang. “Going to Pan Pacs together is very exciting, knowing that we have a very strong group going to Hawaii.”
Meanwhile, in a duel between 100 butterfly national champions, 24-year-old Danielle Hanus from the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds won the women’s 50 fly open final thanks to a personal best time of 26.91, with Kamryn Cannings, 16, taking silver in 27.22. Earlier in the competition, Hanus claimed 100 fly gold in the senior category, while Cannings triumphed in the 15-17 age group.
“Kamryn is a very good up-and-coming swimmer. I’m really excited to see where she goes,” said Hanus. “It’s really nice to see the younger swimmers coming up and really push us older guys, if I can say.”
In Para swimming, Nikita Ens from the Saskatoon Lasers Swim Club lowered her own Canadian SM3 record twice in the women’s 150 individual medley, first posting a time of 4:25.26 in the preliminaries and then winning the multi-class final in 4:21.64 in the evening session. The Tokyo Paralympian had set her previous national standard of 4:26.74 at Bell Canadian Trials in Victoria last April.
“I was a little bit skeptical that I could break my record again tonight but I’ve been learning from my teammate Shelby Newkirk that it’s really important to show up in the evening as well,” said Ens, who had also captured the 50 back multi-class title on Wednesday. “It’s really encouraging towards the end of a long season to be able to still put your head down and persevere, always try your hardest.”
Below is a complete list of national champions from Day 5.
DAY 5 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS – JULY 29
Women
150 IM (Para multi-class): Nikita Ens, Saskatoon Lasers Swim Club, 4:21.64
200 IM (Para multi-class): Angela Marina, Brantford Aquatic Club, 2:37.27
100 freestyle (13-14): Maxine Clark, University of Calgary Swim Club, 57.41
100 freestyle (15-17): Christey Liang, Edmonton Keyano Swim Club, 55.98
100 freestyle (18+): Hannah Cornish, Uxbridge Swim Club, 55.90
200 breaststroke (13-14): Halle West, Manta Swim Club, 2:37.07
200 breaststroke (15-17): Amaris Peng, London Aquatic Club, 2:32.96
200 breaststroke (18+): Katja Pavicevic, Toronto Swim Club, 2:31.29
50 butterfly (Open): Danielle Hanus, University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, 26.91
4×100 freestyle relay (Open): University of Calgary Swim Club 1 (Eliza Housman, Kamryn Cannings, Maxine Clark, Kaycee Cannings), 3:48.03
Men
200 IM (Para multi-class): Zach Zona, HPC-Quebec, 2:46.38
200 backstroke (14-15): Paul Orogo, Hyack Swim Club, 2:08.41
200 backstroke (16-18): Loïc Courville Fortin, Club Aquatique Montréal, 2:03.67
200 backstroke (19+): Hugh McNeill, University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, 2:00.35
400 IM (14-15): Laon Kim, Hyack Swim Club, 4:37.35
400 IM (16-18): Benjamin Loewen, Crest Swimming, 4:24.33
400 IM (19+): Jacob Gallant, Fast, 4:21.45
50 butterfly (Open): Keir Ogilvie, University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, 24.54
4×100 freestyle relay (Open): Pointe-Claire Swim Club 1 (Stanford Li, Malachy Belkhelladi, Maximilian Hunger, Édouard Fullum-Huot), 3:25.61