February 21, 2016
Swimming: Speedo Western Canadian Open
Swimming Canada – Kelsey Wog upsets two national team members for win at Speedo Western Canadian Open
WINNIPEG – Kelsey Wog of Winnipeg upset two national team members on Friday in her 100-m breaststroke victory at the Speedo Western Canadian Open Championships in swimming.
The 17-year-old Wog clocked one minute and 08.43 seconds for the win. Pan Am Games bronze medallist Rachel Nicol of Lethbridge, Alta., was second in 1:08.56 and Kierra Smith of Kelowna, B.C., the 200-m breaststroke victor, was third in 1:09.79.
Both Nicol and Smith competed at the Pan Ams and world championships this past summer.
“I was a bit shocked when I saw the result,” said Wog, who broke three national age group short course records in December. “The key for me is I kept focused on my own race, I really didn’t know how close it was heading to the finish. I didn’t really think about winning, I just wanted to do my best and keep the attention on myself.”
Other winners in open women’s competition were Mackenzie Padington of Victoria in the 100-m freestyle, Kierra Smith in the 400-m individual medley and Ingrid Wilm of Calgary in the 50-m backstroke.
In men’s open competition winners were Jeremy Bagshaw of Victoria in the 100-m freestyle, Nick Kostiuk of Edmonton in the 100-m breaststroke, Eric Hedlin of Victoria in the 400-m IM and Adam Best of Edmonton in the 50-m bacsktroke.
In the youth competition for women 15 and under, Rebecca Smith of Red Deer, Alta., collected her third and fourth gold medals in two days. She was first in the 100-m freestyle and 50-m backstroke.
“My swimming is alright for where I’m at right now in my training,” said Smith, 15, the 200-m free and 100-m backstroke winner on Thursday. “I’m just aiming for best times at the Olympic trials. At this event I just want to learn from each race so I can work on that during my training.”
While Smith hopes to reach some A finals at the Olympic Trials set for April 5-10 in Toronto, Wog is not tipping her hat.
“I’m just going to go there and do my very best,” she said. “We’ll see what happens.”
Competition continues through to Sunday at the Pan Am Pool.
Full results: http://results.swimming.ca/2016_Speedo_Western/
By Louis Daignault for Swimming Canada