Swimming

Five Storylines To Watch At The 2024 Canadian Olympic Trials – Men’s Edition

May 9, 2024

2024 CANADIAN OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC TRIALS

May 13-19, 2024
Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre – Toronto, Ontario
LCM (50 meters)
Meet Central
Psych Sheets
Live Results

The 2024 Canadian Olympic Trials are set to commence next week from the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, as the country’s best swimmers will vie for spots on the Paris Olympic team over seven days of racing.

Below, find five key men’s storylines to follow throughout the competition:

LIENDO, KHARUN COMING OFF STANDOUT NCAA SEASONS

Josh Liendo assumed the role of being Canada’s best male swimmer at the Tokyo Olympics, and after an impressive run of international meets that included four medals between the 2022 and 2023 World Championships and a Commonwealth title in the 100 fly, he’s been joined by Ilya Kharun, giving the nation a 1-2 punch with medal chances in Paris.

Liendo was the lone Canadian male to win a medal at the 2023 World Championships, while Kharun, who made his long course debut representing Canada in Fukuoka, fell just shy after placing 4th in the 200 fly.

Both men head into the Trials coming off sensational seasons in the NCAA. Liendo swept the 50 free, 100 free and 100 fly at Men’s NCAAs in his sophomore year at Florida, while Kharun played a pivotal role in helping Arizona State win its first team title in program history, most notably winning the 200 fly as a freshman.

Similar to Summer McIntosh, neither swimmer figures to have a problem qualifying for Paris…but we’re still interested in how fast they’ll swim in Toronto.

Last year, Liendo only had a few days between NCAAs and World Trials, and ended up going slightly slower in the 50 and 100 free at Trials compared to Worlds, while he was essentially the same in the 100 fly.

Liendo	2023 Trials	2023 Worlds (fastest any round)
50 free	21.80	21.88
100 free	47.86	48.03
100 fly	50.36	50.34

Now that he’ll have had six weeks between meets, giving him more time for dedicated long course prep, we could see Liendo faster in Toronto this year, especially after his NCAA performance that included some of the fastest swims in history. All of that comes with the caveat that the goal is to be the fastest he’s ever been in Paris, but given the form he’s shown recently, 21-mid, 47-high and 50-mid are realistic expectations.

He’s also entered in the 200 free, which would be an interesting addition if he swims it. Even if he doesn’t, if Liendo’s been training for it he could give the men’s 800 free relay a shot in the arm at the Olympics.

For Kharun, he’s switched up training bases since the last Canadian selection meet, moving from the Sandpipers of Nevada to Arizona State. In addition to seamlessly transitioning to the NCAA and becoming an instant star for the Sun Devils, Kharun has also turned in some noteworthy long course swims, including clockings of 51.32 in the 100 fly and 1:54.66 in the 200 fly at the U.S. Open in December.

With Kharun now training full-time under new ASU coach Herbie Behm after Bob Bowman‘s departure to Texas, it will be interesting to see how Khaurn fares in Toronto. He could give Liendo a push in the 100 fly, with the 51-second barrier in his sights, and he should win the 200 fly comfortably. But the benefits of training with Behm could show itself more in the 50 and 100 free, where Kharun is flying under the radar but could challenge for one of the top spots after what he did in short course yards.

KNOX, WIGGINTON RIDING DOHA MOMENTUM

Two swimmers heading into the Olympic Trials with some real long course momentum: Rising talent Lorne Wigginton and the more established Finlay Knox.

Wigginton has significantly improved since the 2023 Canadian Trials, though he still qualified to represent Canada in Fukuoka and nearly made the 400 IM final (9th in 4:13.75).

The 18-year-old won two bronzes at the World Juniors in September in the 200 IM (1:59.44) and 400 IM (4:12.81) while also placing 4th in the 400 free (3:49.05), and then accrued more international experience by placing 7th in the 400 IM and 13th in the 200 IM at the 2024 World Championships in Doha.

Knox, 23, has reset the Canadian Record in the 200 IM numerous times and represented Canada in the event in Tokyo, but is coming off the best performance of his career at the 2024 Worlds.

Knox ran down American Carson Foster to win 200 IM gold in a time of 1:56.64, lowering his National Record of 1:57.26 set at the 2023 World Trials.

Before his gold medal win in Doha, Knox had placed 17th (Tokyo), 17th (Budapest) and 13th (Fukuoka) at the previous three Olympic/World Championship meets.

He notably moved from the High Performance Centre in Ontario to the Vancouver hub under coach Scott Talbot last summer, and it seems to have paid dividends.

With a 1:56 swim under his belt, which should be fast enough to final—and maybe not far off a medal—in Paris, the first indicator of his form entering the summer will show itself next week.

Both swimmers have relatively busy schedules, as Wigginton and Knox will likely be in the mix for a spot on the 800 free relay (and maybe the 400 free relay for Knox) to go along with a shot to earn multiple individual entries in Paris.

Knox’s Entries/Seed

100 breast – #1
100 back – #6
200 free – #2
100 free – #5
200 IM – #1
100 fly – #3

Wigginton’s Entries/Seed

400 free – #1
400 IM – #1
200 free – #4
200 IM – #3
100 fly – #29

Whether or not Wigginton can take the next step and Knox can carry his Doha performance forward into the Olympic lead-up, with neither letting their potentially busy programs hamper performance, are the big questions for these two.

IS IT TOO EARLY FOR LAON KIM?

Laon Kim has been rewriting the Canadian age group record books ever since the last Olympic Trials three years ago. Kim was just 13 at the time, but has quickly evolved into a real threat to break onto the Canadian Olympic team despite being too young to drive a car.

Kim, still 15, was swimming in junior finals at the 2023 World Trials, but should be able to make his way into at least one ‘A’ final next week, that being the 200 free.

The #6 seed coming in, Kim broke 1:50 in August at the Canadian Championships, clocking 1:49.62, putting him right in the mix for a relay berth. He also went 1:51.25 at the Fran Crippen Memorial Meet in April, his fastest time ever outside of the 2023 Canadian Championships (where he had two 1:51-low swims on top of his 1:49.6).

The top two swimmers on the psych sheets of the 200 free at Trials are Javier Acevedo and Finlay Knox, neither of whom is a 200 free specialist, so the race is largely up for grabs and Kim should feature prominently.

Kim, who changed training bases from Hyack Swim Club to the larger University of Calgary Swim Club (UCSC) last summer, is also in the hunt for an ‘A’ final berth in the 50, 100 and 400 free. His versatility is really on display with his seeds, as he ranked 12th in the 50 free, 15th in the 1500 free and 17th in the 200 IM coming in.

Kim’s Entries/Seed

400 free – #8
200 free – #6
100 free – #14
200 IM – #17
50 fr – #12
100 fly – #50
1500 fr – #15

It’s much more common for female swimmers to find success on the biggest stage in the sport, and we shouldn’t put undo pressure on Kim to come in and revitalize a Canadian men’s 800 free relay that hasn’t made a final at the Olympics or World Championships since 2008—they didn’t qualify teams to compete in either Rio or Tokyo—but he’s an intriguing talent to follow as he continues to emerge.

OPPORTUNITY ABOUND IN WIDE OPEN EVENTS

Although Canadian men’s swimming is in the best place it’s been since the retirements of Ryan Cochrane and Brent Hayden—with Hayden returning for Tokyo to bolster the 400 free relay—there are still a number of events where it’s not set in stone that someone will achieve the Olympic ‘B’ cut and punch a ticket to Paris.

Most of those events are wide open, where the win will be hotly contested to go along with a close watch on the clock to see if they get under the required standard. At one point, Canada sent its winner of every event at Trials regardless of them hitting the cut, but that’s not the case anymore.

200 Free

We’ve already touched on how the 200 free is “up for grabs’ with Acevedo and Knox topping the psych sheets. This race will largely be looked at as a battle for Olympic relay spots, as it will take a monster performance for anyone to earn an individual entry.

The Olympic ‘A’ cut of 1:46.26 is faster than Brent Hayden‘s Canadian Record from 2008 (1:46.40), and Colin Russell (1:46.58, also in 2008) is the only other Canadian ever to go under the current ‘B’ standard of 1:46.79.

400 Free

This event could be Wigginton’s to lose, as he’s the top seed with his NAG record of 3:49.05 from World Juniors. Alex Axon and Eric Brown, fresh off competing in the NCAA, are seeded 2nd and 3rd, and 32-year-old veteran Jeremy Bagshaw is 4th.

Bagshaw is the 2nd fastest Canadian in history behind Ryan Cochrane, but his PB of 3:48.82 is shy of the ‘B’ standard (3:47.91). Wigginton probably has the best chance of hitting it if he can drop just over one second.

800/1500 Free

Brown looks like the only swimmer with a legitimate shot at hitting the ‘B’ standard in one of the distance events, as his time of 7:56.96 in the 800 free from the 2023 Trials is within striking distance of the cut (7:54.01). He would need to take off over 12 seconds in the 1500 free.

100/200 Back

Blake Tierney established himself as the man to beat in the 100 back after setting a best time of 53.65 at the 2024 World Championships leading off the medley relay. Javier Acevedo broke 54 seconds for the first time in five years at the 2023 Trials in 53.83, so there’s a chance Canada could send two men in this event with the ‘A’ cut sitting at 53.74.

In the 200 back, Hugh McNeill is the frontrunner after he broke 1:58 for the first time at the 2023 World Championships, earning a berth in the semi-finals.

The Olympic ‘A’ cut is 1:57.50 and the ‘B’ standard is 1:58.09. Raben Dommann (1:58.64) and Tristan Jankovics (1:59.11) are the #2 and #3 seeds, so they’ll have their work cut out for them to snag a spot.

Cole Pratt will be one to watch, as he’s had a slow recovery from a shoulder injury but has a best time of 1:57.96 from 2021.

Jankovics could make some noise elsewhere—his best time is 4:17.40 in the 400 IM, well shy of the qualifying times, but he’s coming off making the NCAA ‘A’ final and clocking 3:38.49 in short course yards.

100/200 Breast

No swimmer entered in either breaststroke event has ever been under the ‘B’ cut, which sits at 59.79 in the 100 breast and 2:10.33 in the 200 breast.

It will take a National Record for someone to get under the cut in the 100, though selection for the medley relay will be at stake. The versatile Finlay Knox holds the top seed at 1:00.91, just ahead of Gabe Mastromatteo (1:00.96), who represented Canada in the event in Tokyo.

Mastromatteo holds a best time of 1:00.11, set at the 2021 Trials, so he’s the frontrunner.

In the 200 breast, Brayden Taivassalo comes in as the man to beat after he ripped a PB of 2:10.89 en route to winning silver at the 2023 Pan Am Games.

Coming off his freshman year at Texas, which included winning the Big 12 title in the 200 breast, Taivassalo doesn’t have any challengers for the win on paper in the absence of James Dergousoff, so he’ll be racing the clock.

PREVIOUS REGIME MAKES LAST STAND (?)

As we outlined in the women’s article, the Olympic year is a natural stopping point for swimmers careers, and there are a few names who have been at it for a long time and could walk away in Toronto or Paris.

The 32-year-old Jeremy Bagshaw has represented Canada internationally for 14 years, including numerous appearances at the World Championships, but has yet to land a spot at the Olympics. His best chance will be on the 800 free relay, as a top four spots in the 200 should get the job done after Canada didn’t qualify a relay in Rio and Tokyo (he was 2nd and 3rd in the 200 at those two Trials).

Yuri Kisil has been a staple on the Canadian sprinting scene for a decade, swimming at both the 2016 and 2021 Olympics. He didn’t race much in 2022 and 2023, but has ramped things up in recent months and will be a contender in the 50 and 100 free.

A semi-finalist in the 100 free at both the Rio and Tokyo Games, Kisil is 28 and this could be his last go-around before moving on from the sport.

Markus Thormeyer emerged alongside Kisil, and the two were teammates at the University of British Columbia, and Thormeyer has seemingly walked away from the sport (despite no official announcement).

Other swimmers born pre-2000 who could be nearing the end of their careers include Javier Acevedo, Stephen Calkins and Sebastian Paulins.

Acevedo, 26, is a two-time Olympian and has found plenty of success in short course meters (ISL and then the World Cup), so he could very well stick around.

SwimSwam: Five Storylines To Watch At The 2024 Canadian Olympic Trials – Men’s Edition