Josh Liendo Soars To 50.06 Commonwealth 100 ‘Fly Mark As No3 All-Time In Textile
Josh Liendo completed an excellent week at Canadian Olympic Trials in Toronto with a soaring 50.06 Commonwealth and Canadian 100m butterfly record for third ticket to a solo event at the Paris Games this summer.
The Commonwealth standard had stood to Australian Matt Temple at 50.25 since the Japan Open last December, while Liendo’s national mark had been the 50.33 he clocked in heats this morning to take down his previous best of 50.34 from Fukuoka 2023 World titles.
Out in 23.30 and home in 26.76, Liendo still had company of 200m men fit to do damage on the way home, Ilya Kharun on 23.77, Finlay Knox on 24.01. Liendo was in no mood to yield and gained further ground on the way to the end wall, Kharun second ion 51.09, Knox third in 51.42.
All three men will represent Canada in Paris, Liendo in the 50m free, the 100m free and the 100m ‘fly, Kharun in the 200m butterly and Knox in the 200m medley.
Listed with the High Performance Centre – Ontario back home, Liendo is coached at the Gators in Florida by just the right man: Anthony Nesty raced to Olympic gold in the 100m butterfly for Suriname ahead of American favourite Matt Biondi at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games to become the first black swimmer in history to claim the ultimate accolade in his sport.
Nesty will be in Paris on the opposing team, as Team USA coach with big hitting charges from the Gators program, including living legend Katie Ledecky, up for big honours.
Liendo has also been coached by Eddie Toro, the Director of Performance with NYAC, as well as Ryan Mallette, Ben Titley, Murray Drudge and Phillip Garcia. So, no shortage of expertise to guide Liendo as he heads to his second Olympics in the hunt for medals.
Take out the Rome 2009 clash of shiny suits, Michael Phelps the World champion on 49.82, Milorad Cavic, who taunted the Olympic champion with shiny trash talk a year after finishing ahead of him by 0.01sec in Beijing the year before, the silver medallist once more, in 49.95 … and this is the all-time top 6, all of them in the hunt this year, the first sub-50sec podium in prospect but not a given:
Liendo Elevation
49.45 Caeleb Dressel USA 2021 Tokyo gold
49.68 Kristof Milak HUN 2021 Tokyo silver
50.06 Josh Liendo CAN 2024 Toronto Trials Comm, CAN, Rec
50.14 Maxime Grousset FRA 2023 World title
50.16 Noe Ponti SUI 2024
50.25 Matt Temple AUS 2023
The splits compared, showing the balance of danger in the 100m between the purer sprinters and the 200m men:
23.30; 50.06 (26.76) Liendo today
Tokyo 2020ne Olympic gold and silver: 23.00; 49.45 (26.45) Dressel; 23.65; 49.68 (26.03) Milak
“I’m tired but I feel like it was really just a good trials,” said Liendo. “It feels great. I just wanted to get out there, to push myself, see where my limit’s at. That’s what this meet is for. I think I did that tonight. I’m going to enjoy this for a little bit, but I’m also excited to get back to work and try to see what I can do better in Paris.”
Liendo placed 11th in the 100 fly at Tokyo2020ne, his Olympic debut. Bronze followed at 2022 World titles, then silver in 2023 n that 50.34.
Kharun, 19, said: “I’ve been working with my coach on the first 50 so I can keep up with guys like Josh. I think our men’s program is pretty high ranked and it will be, I think, even better moving forward.”
Women’s 50m freestyle – Oleksiak By 0.02sec Over Ruck
Penny Oleksiak completed the sprint freestyle double with a 25.06sec victory in the 50m 0.02sec ahead of Taylor Ruck, the Paris qualifying target ahead of them at 24.70. Third place went to Ainsley McMurray in 25.43.
Oleksiak, who won the 100m earlier in the seven days of trials, and Ruck made the grade for the Olympic 4x100m free relay but have yet to show the kind of form that would get them into a solo event in Paris.
Paralympic Selections Announced by Swimming Canada
Team of 20 Para swimmers nominated to Paris 2024 Canadian Paralympic Team
– Roster includes six Paralympic medallists
– Paris 2024 Paralympic Games takes place August 28 to September 8
Toronto, May 19, 2024 – A team of 20 athletes has been nominated to represent Canada in Para swimming at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games following the conclusion of the Olympic & Paralympic Swimming Trials in Toronto, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and Swimming Canada announced Sunday. Canada’s Para swimmers are the first athletes to be nominated to the Paris 2024 Canadian Paralympic Team, with 101 days to go until the start of the Games.
Nicholas Bennett – Parksville, BC
Katie Cosgriffe – Burlington, ON
Danielle Dorris – Moncton, NB
Sabrina Duchesne – Saint-Augustin, QC
Alec Elliot – Kitchener, ON
Nikita Ens – Meadow Lake, SK
Arianna Hunsicker – Surrey, BC
Mary Jibb – Bracebridge, ON
Fernando Lu – Burnaby, BC
Sebastian Massabie – Surrey, BC
Reid Maxwell – St. Albert, AB
Shelby Newkirk – Saskatoon, SK
Aurélie Rivard – Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC
Tess Routliffe – Caledon, ON
Katarina Roxon – Kippens, NL
Abi Tripp – Kingston, ON
Nicolas-Guy Turbide – Quebec City, QC
Philippe Vachon – Blainville, QC
Emma Grace Van Dyk – Port Colborne, ON
Aly Van Wyck Smart – Toronto, ON
The team includes six Paralympic medallists, led by Aurélie Rivard with 10 podium finishes. Rivard, who captured five medals at Tokyo 2020 including two gold, is heading to her fourth Paralympic Games.
“It’s a bit surreal to know I’m going to a fourth Paralympics,” said Rivard. “I’ve been at this for 16 years and I still get excited knowing I’ll be going to the Games and it’s a privilege to have been part of the team for this long. I think all the athletes will savour these Games more; we’re going to rediscover all that we missed due to the pandemic at the Tokyo Games and have the full Games experience.”