Masse Menaces Own Canadian 100 Back Mark As Wilm & Bagshaw Make It Perseverance Day At Canadian Trials
Kylie Masse scooped up two tickets in one final on day three at Canadian Olympic Trials in Toronto with a dominant 57.94 victory in the 100m backstroke. The Olympic silver medalist in both the 100 and 200m from Tokyo will head to Paris a podium contender once more, in the solo sprint and with chances as a medley relay mate for the a Maples.
The qualifying time was in the bag in heats for Masse. Confirmation in the final: out in 27.97, she was home in 29.97, minus the speed of a start, as fast as seven of the finalists raced to the turn.
Her Canadian record not far ahead of her, at 57.70, Masse was happy to get the job done, saying:
“I knew I had a really good swim this morning. I’ve been working on my skills and I just wanted to put together a good race and execute things that I’ve been working on well. It’s not always easy to do that in a final under the pressure of making it on a big team. So, I’m happy that I could go faster than I did this morning and execute what I needed to do.”
Kylie Masse – Photo by Michael P. Hall, courtesy of Swimming Canada
In Masse’s wake, the battle for the second berth delivered a podium of qualifiers on time but not positive: Ingrid Wilm too the second berth for Paris in 59.31, locking out Taylor Ruck, on 59.78, after the two had turned in the same order, on 28.62 and a 29.05 respectively.
“Kylie Masse is such an icon and legend,” said Wilm. “One of the things I love about her is her kindness and sportsmanship.”
Canadian Perseverance Day
That and perseverance were the order of the day. Wilm made Paris after missing out at the last two Games trials, while Jeremy Bagshaw made his first Olympics this evening in Toronto at the fourth time of asking 14 years after racing for Canada at the Youth Olympics in 2010.
Injury put a block on Wilm making the Rio 2016 Games ands then she just missed the cut for Tokyo. She emerged from second place in the 100m, beamed up at her elder sister Astrid up in the crowd, and, through Swimming Canada, said: “I finally, finally did it. I’ve been so stressed but I’m so, so happy I get to perform for Canada at the Olympics.”
While a fair few swimmers from around the world will be heading to their third, fourth, fifth and even sixth Games this summer, the more common experience is one of challenge cycle after cycle and the drive to stick with it even when the thumb is down. Take Ruck. She holds the Canadian 15-17 age record at 58.97 and has spent a while in the challenging zone of plateau and perseverance.
And so to the men’s 200m freestyle, in which the age range in the final was a doubled-up 16 to 32, Jeremy Bagshaw the man flying the perseverance flag for all: at 32, 14 years after he raced for Canada at the Youth Olympics, Bagshaw made his first Olympic team for Canada on the fourth time of asking.
The win went to Alex Axon in 1:47.56, the first five home within a second: Patrick Hussey, 1:47.78, Lorne Wigginton 1:47.93; Bagshaw, 1:48.49, and Antoine Sauve, 1:48.53.
All 10 finalists were inside 1:50, the age spread from Bagshaw at 32 to last man home, 16-year-old Laon Kim, who was two years old when Bagshaw raced at the Youth Olympics isn 2010. Never give up!
Born in in Singapore, Bagshaw is a graduate of the University of California-Berkeley and has been working towards his future career as a physician over the past three years, studying medicine in Ireland. He completed his degree last month and is racing at his fifth and last trials of his career this week, having missed team by fractions of a second in previous years. Now, he’s an Olympian at last. He said:
“I’m over the moon. It’s been a long time coming,. I’ve always had a dream of going to the Olympics. I’ve had some rough patches in my swimming career but still believed I could do it. I just kept persevering and didn’t give up on my dream.
“To finally be able to put it together and get my hand on the wall, even if it was by a couple hundredths, I’ve been on the opposite side of that before. So to finally be on the good side of it, it makes me very happy and I’m very grateful for what I’ve been able to do. Now I’ve just got to wait until Sunday and see how the nomination plays out and see what happens.”
Jeremy Bagshaw (Photo: Instagram)
Bagshaw is not the only man to make his debut in that Canadian 4×200 relay: they all are.
Oliver Dawson – 2:12 At 16 Over 200m Breaststroke
In other finals, 16-year-old Oliver Dawson took the men’s 200 breaststroke in a personal best 2:12.42, a second shy of the P{Paris target time, and Emma Finlin won the 1500m free in 16:28.15. A 2:12 at 16? There’s no automatic ticket to Paris but selectors may ponder the power of discretion.
Team Canada – Qualifiers so far: Olympic Games and Paralympic Games
Olympics
Javier Acevedo Toronto, Ont. HPC-Ontario M 100 Back
Mary-Sophie Harvey Trois-Rivières, Que. CAMO W 100 Fly & 200 Free
Tristan Jankovics Guelph, Ont. Royal City Aquatics M 400 IM
Maggie Mac Neil London, Ont. London Aquatic Club W 100 Fly
Kylie Masse LaSalle, Ont. Toronto Swim Club W 100 Back
Summer McIntosh Toronto, Ont. Sarasota Sharks W 200 & 400 Free
Blake Tierney Saskatoon, Sask. HPC-Vancouver M 100 Back
Ingrid Wilm Calgary, Alta. Cascade Swim Club W 100 Back
Paralympics
Name Hometown Club Event(s)
Nicholas Bennett Parksville, B.C. Red Deer Catalina SC M 100 Breast SB14
Katie Cosgriffe Burlington, Ont. Oakville Aquatic Club W 100 Fly S10
Danielle Dorris Moncton, N.B. CNBO W 50 Fly S7
Sabrina Duchesne Saint-Augustin, Que. Rouge et Or W 400 Free S7
Reid Maxwell St. Albert, Alta. EKSC M 400 Free S8
Aurélie Rivard Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. CNQ W 400 Free S10
Tess Routliffe Caledon, Ont. HPC-Quebec W 50 Fly S7 & 100 Breast SB7
Katarina Roxon Kippens, N.L. Aqua Aces Swim Club