Latest news with #AquaticsChampionships
CNA
02-07-2025
- Sport
- CNA
Singapore to field record 72-strong contingent at World Aquatics Championships
SINGAPORE: Singapore will send its largest ever contingent to the World Aquatics Championships it is hosting this year, with a total of 72 athletes across five disciplines, Singapore Aquatics president Kenneth Goh announced on Wednesday (Jul 2). There will be 30 athletes making their debut, Associate Professor Goh said during a press conference at the World Aquatics Championships Arena venue in Kallang. 'That alone speaks volumes about the depth of talent we have nurtured, and the boldness of our vision for the future,' he said. He added that this has been made possible by years of investment in development pathways and infrastructure, and a belief in athletes and coaches alike. At the 2023 edition in Fukuoka, 27 athletes represented Singapore across four disciplines. The championships feature the six disciplines of swimming, water polo, diving, artistic swimming, open water swimming and high diving. This year, Singapore will not be competing in high diving. The competition, to be held from Jul 11 to Aug 3, is a key highlight on the SG60 calendar as Singapore marks six decades of independence this year. 'We have established ourselves as a powerhouse in aquatics in the region, consistently competing against the best in Asia. But to become the best in the world, we must challenge ourselves against the very best, and we will not shy away from that,' said Assoc Prof Goh. HOMEGROUND ADVANTAGE Athletes said they were looking forward to competing in front of the home crowd. Swimmer Gan Ching Hwee, who set two national records at the Paris Olympics in the 800m freestyle and 1500m freestyle, said 'the homeground advantage is really something that I look forward to'. She hopes that the upcoming championships can inspire future generations of aspiring athletes to believe in themselves and one day step up and represent Singapore as well, especially with the SEA Games returning to Singapore in 2029. 'On top of that, I think we have the advantage of being familiar with the environment, like the heat and humidity,' added Gan. Fellow swimmer Mikkel Lee said that the sight of familiar faces in the crowd makes a big difference for him when competing. He recalled the solitude of participating in a competition in the German capital of Berlin. 'I was on my own, essentially. I didn't have anybody. I was kind of losing my head a little bit,' he said. Lee added that with the competition held in Singapore this time, it is also a different experience for him, as it is his turn to play host to his foreign counterparts. 'What's different is that usually I'm asking people that are hosting: 'What's good in your country? Where should I go?' And now people are asking me that question,' he said. For Lee Kai Yang, captain of the men's water polo team, the support from a home crowd is something that is unmatched, as he recalled the feeling making his debut in Singapore during the 2015 SEA Games. 'Ever since then, every other major games that I've been to, the feeling from the crowd is never the same. And I do look forward to that again in this world championships here in Singapore,' he said.
CTV News
11-06-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
McIntosh just misses breaking oldest women's record by blink of an eye
VICTORIA — Summer McIntosh came within a blink of an eye of breaking swimming's oldest women's world record at the Bell Canadian Swimming Trials on Tuesday night. With a sold-out crowd's cheers ringing in her ears, the 18-year-old from Toronto swam the 200-metre butterfly in 2:02.26 — just .45 off the record of 2:01.81 set by China's Liu Zige in 2009. She also shaved .76 off her own Canadian record and notched the second fastest time in history in the event. Meanwhile, four new swimmers earned selection to Team Canada for this summer's World Aquatics Championships. McIntosh was pleased with her swim, but also believes the record remains within her grasp. 'I think this world record is the hardest one to get,' said McIntosh, who has set two world records and four Canadian records in four days. 'I'm just so happy with the 2:02 low tonight. I didn't know if that was possible for me.' McIntosh was on world record pace when she made the final turn for home. 'I was kind of upset with myself with the finish,' she said. 'My last stroke was just a little bit wonky. I can definitely find the other little deficiencies through the race. 'The fact I'm knocking on the door on that world record is really encouraging. That's the one world record I never thought I would even come close to. To be pretty close to it is pretty wild.' McIntosh won the 200-m individual medley on Monday in 2:05.70, lowering the time of 2:06.12 set by Hungary's Katinka Hosszu that stood for nearly 10 years. She opened the trials, winning the 400-m freestyle in 3:54.18 on Saturday, breaking the old mark of 3:55.38 held by Australia's Ariarne Titmus. She broke her own Canadian record in the 800-m freestyle Sunday. Her time of 8:05.07 shaved almost five seconds off her own Canadian record and was the third fastest time ever, 0.95 of a second off the world record American legend Katie Ledecky set in May. Ilya Kharun of Montreal picked up his second victory of the trials, winning the men's 200-m butterfly in 1:53.41. Kharun earned a bronze medal in the 200 fly at the Paris 2024 Olympics, setting a Canadian record time. It was the first medal ever for a Canadian in the event. Kharun said the race remains a learning curve for him. 'I'm really glad how it's progressing,' said Kharun, who swam a personal best time to win the 100 fly on Sunday. 'I think it should be a lot better once we get some more work in.' It was an emotional moment for Toronto's Ruslan Gaziev, who won the men's 100-m freestyle in 48.37 seconds. That was under Swimming Canada's secondary standard of 48.82. Gaziev is returning to swimming after serving an 18-month suspension due to an anti-doping rule violation regarding keeping his whereabouts information fully up-to-date. 'I'm just happy I won,' said the 25-year-old. 'I'm honestly proud of myself and how I've handled the struggles I've had. I feel like I've really built up my resilience.' Antoine Sauve of Montreal's CAMO club was second in the men's 100 in 48.42. Toronto's Josh Liendo was third in 48.62, followed by Filip Senc-Samardzic of Toronto in 49.13. Liendo had already earned selection in two events (100 fly and 50 free) while Sauve and Senc-Samardzic added their names to the list. Three-time Olympian Penny Oleksiak of Toronto won her second event of the trials, taking the women's 100 free in 54.03, well under the AQUA A standard of 54.25. She swam a personal best to win the 50 free on Monday. 'I think I had a lot more in that race,' said Oleksiak, the owner of seven Olympic medals. 'I'm excited to get back into training and just getting faster for the summer.' The top four finishers in the men's and women's 100 freestyle events will be selected to join Team Canada at this summer's World Aquatics Championships. Finishing second in the women's 100 free was Kelowna's Taylor Ruck in 54.41, followed by Brooklyn Douthwright of Riverview, N.B., in 54.74 and Ingrid Wilm of the High Performance Centre—Vancouver in 55.15. Ruck (100-m) and Wilm (50-m) had already earned selection in backstroke events, while Douthwright earned her spot for the first time. Strong night for para swimmers Para swimmers enjoyed another strong night with Alyssa Smyth, Nicholas Bennett, and Sebastian Massabie all setting Canadian records. Katie Cosgriffe won the multi-class women's 100-m butterfly in 1:07.61, a time the S10 swimmer from the Oakville Aquatic Club believes she can improve on. 'There's lots of technical ways that I can be a lot faster,' she said. 'I have to work on my speed in general.' Alyssa Smyth of the Orangeville Otters Swim Club was second in the race in an S13 Canadian record time of 1:06.42. A mix-up resulted in Smyth arriving at the pool late. She didn't have time for a warm-up before her race. 'There was a lot of adrenalin,' said Smyth. 'I thought to make the best of the situation, I would just try the best I could. It went pretty well.' Fernando Lu of Langley's Olympian Swimming won two races. The S10 swimmer started the evening taking the multi-class 100-m butterfly in 58.20 seconds, then the 50-m freestyle in 24.44. 'It went well for me tonight,' said Lu, who reached two finals at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. 'I feel more energized than ever. I'm really happy with the way I've recovered from the past races.' Sebastian Massabie of the Pacific Sea Wolves broke the S5 Canadian record twice in the 50 freestyle. He swam 36.22 seconds in the morning preliminaries, then 35.42 in the final. He broke the Canadian record in the S5 50-m butterfly twice on Monday. Nicholas Bennett, an S14 swimmer with the Red Deer Catalina Swim Club, swam 57.50 to lower his own Canadian record in the 100-m butterfly. The six-day trials, which run through Thursday, have attracted more than 700 swimmers to Saanich Commonwealth Place in Victoria. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2025. The Canadian Press
National Post
11-06-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Summer McIntosh just misses breaking oldest women's record by blink of an eye
VICTORIA — Summer McIntosh came within a blink of an eye of breaking swimming's oldest women's world record at the Bell Canadian Swimming Trials on Tuesday night. Article content With a sold-out crowd's cheers ringing in her ears, the 18-year-old from Toronto swam the 200-metre butterfly in 2:02.26 _ just .45 off the record of 2:01.81 set by China's Liu Zige in 2009. She also shaved .76 off her own Canadian record and notched the second fastest time in history in the event. Article content Article content Article content Meanwhile, four new swimmers earned selection to Team Canada for this summer's World Aquatics Championships. McIntosh was pleased with her swim, but also believes the record remains within her grasp. Article content 'I think this world record is the hardest one to get,' said McIntosh, who has set two world records and four Canadian records in four days. 'I'm just so happy with the 2:02 low tonight. I didn't know if that was possible for me.' Article content McIntosh was on world record pace when she made the final turn for home. Article content 'I was kind of upset with myself with the finish,' she said. 'My last stroke was just a little bit wonky. I can definitely find the other little deficiencies through the race. Article content 'The fact I'm knocking on the door on that world record is really encouraging. That's the one world record I never thought I would even come close to. To be pretty close to it is pretty wild.' Article content McIntosh won the 200-m individual medley on Monday in 2:05.70, lowering the time of 2:06.12 set by Hungary's Katinka Hosszu that stood for nearly 10 years. She opened the trials, winning the 400-m freestyle in 3:54.18 on Saturday, breaking the old mark of 3:55.38 held by Australia's Ariarne Titmus. Article content She broke her own Canadian record in the 800-m freestyle Sunday. Her time of 8:05.07 shaved almost five seconds off her own Canadian record and was the third fastest time ever, 0.95 of a second off the world record American legend Katie Ledecky set in May. Article content Ilya Kharun of Montreal picked up his second victory of the trials, winning the men's 200-m butterfly in 1:53.41. Article content Kharun earned a bronze medal in the 200 fly at the Paris 2024 Olympics, setting a Canadian record time. It was the first medal ever for a Canadian in the event. Article content Kharun said the race remains a learning curve for him. Article content 'I'm really glad how it's progressing,' said Kharun, who swam a personal best time to win the 100 fly on Sunday. 'I think it should be a lot better once we get some more work in.' Article content It was an emotional moment for Toronto's Ruslan Gaziev, who won the men's 100-m freestyle in 48.37 seconds. That was under Swimming Canada's secondary standard of 48.82. Article content Gaziev is returning to swimming after serving an 18-month suspension due to an anti-doping rule violation regarding keeping his whereabouts information fully up-to-date. 'I'm just happy I won,' said the 25-year-old. 'I'm honestly proud of myself and how I've handled the struggles I've had. I feel like I've really built up my resilience.'
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
McIntosh just misses breaking oldest women's record by blink of an eye
VICTORIA — Summer McIntosh came within a blink of an eye of breaking swimming's oldest women's world record at the Bell Canadian Swimming Trials on Tuesday night. With a sold-out crowd's cheers ringing in her ears, the 18-year-old from Toronto swam the 200-metre butterfly in 2:02.26 — just .45 off the record of 2:01.81 set by China's Liu Zige in 2009. She also shaved .76 off her own Canadian record and notched the second fastest time in history in the event. Advertisement Meanwhile, four new swimmers earned selection to Team Canada for this summer's World Aquatics Championships. McIntosh was pleased with her swim but also believes the record remains within her grasp. 'I think this world record is the hardest one to get,' said McIntosh, who has set two world records and four Canadian records in four days. 'I'm just so happy with the 2:02 low tonight. I didn't know if that was possible for me.' McIntosh was on world record pace when she made the final turn for home. 'I was kind of upset with myself with the finish,' she said. 'My last stroke was just a little bit wonky. I can definitely find the other little deficiencies through the race. Advertisement 'The fact I'm knocking on the door on that world record is really encouraging. That's the one world record I never thought I would even come close to. To be pretty close to it is pretty wild.' McIntosh won the 200-m individual medley on Monday in 2:05.70, lowering the time of 2:06.12 set by Hungary's Katinka Hosszu that stood for nearly 10 years. She opened the trials winning the 400-m freestyle in 3:54.18 Saturday, breaking the old mark of 3:55.38 held by Australia's Ariarne Titmus. She broke her own Canadian record in the 800-m freestyle Sunday. Her time of 8:05.07 shaved almost five seconds off her own Canadian record and was the third fastest time ever, 0.95 of a second off the world record American legend Katie Ledecky set in May. Ilya Kharun of Montreal picked up his second victory of the trials, winning the men's 200-m butterfly in 1:53.41. Kharun earned a bronze medal in the 200 fly at the Paris 2024 Olympics, setting a Canadian record time. It was the first medal ever for a Canadian in the event. Kharun said the race remains a learning curve for him. 'I'm really glad how it's progressing,' said Kharun, who swam a personal best time to win the 100 fly on Sunday. 'I think it should be a lot better once we get some more work in.' It was an emotional moment for Toronto's Ruslan Gaziev who won the men's 100-m freestyle in 48.37 seconds. That was under Swimming Canada's secondary standard of 48.82. Gaziev is returning to swimming after serving an 18-month suspension due to an anti-doping rule violation regarding keeping his whereabouts information fully up-to-date. 'I'm just happy I won,' said the 25-year-old. 'I'm honestly proud of myself and how I've handled the struggles I've had. I feel like I've really built up my resilience.' Antoine Sauve of Montreal's CAMO club was second in the men's 100 in 48.42. Toronto's Josh Liendo was third in 48.62 followed by Filip Senc-Samardzic of Toronto in 49.13. Liendo had already earned selection in two events (100 fly and 50 free) while Sauve and Senc-Samardzic added their names to the list. Three-time Olympian Penny Oleksiak of Toronto won her second event of the trials, taking the women's 100 free in 54.03, well under the AQUA A standard of 54.25. She swam a personal best to win the 50 free on Monday. 'I think I had a lot more in that race,' said Oleksiak, the owner of seven Olympic medals. 'I'm excited to get back into training and just getting faster for the summer.' The top four finishers in the men's and women's 100 freestyle events will be selected to join Team Canada at this summer's World Aquatics Championships. Finishing second in the women's 100 free was Kelowna's Taylor Ruck in 54.41, followed by Brooklyn Douthwright of Riverview, N.B., in 54.74 and Ingrid Wilm of the High Performance Centre—Vancouver in 55.15. Ruck (100-m) and Wilm (50-m) had already earned selection in backstroke events, while Douthwright earned her spot for the first time. STRONG NIGHT FOR PARA SWIMMERS Para swimmers enjoyed another strong night with Alyssa Smyth, Nicholas Bennett and Sebastian Massabie all setting Canadian records. Katie Cosgriffe won the multi-class women's 100-m butterfly in 1:07.61, a time the S10 swimmer from the Oakville Aquatic Club believes she can improve on. 'There's lots of technical ways that I can be a lot faster,' she said. 'I have to work on my speed in general.' Alyssa Smyth of the Orangeville Otters Swim Club was second in the race in an S13 Canadian record time of 1:06.42. A mix-up resulted in Smyth arriving at the pool late. She didn't have time for a warm-up before her race. 'There was a lot of adrenalin,' said Smyth. 'I thought to make the best of the situation I would just try the best I could. It went pretty well.' Fernando Lu of Langley's Olympian Swimming won two races. The S10 swimmer started the evening taking the multi-class 100-m butterfly in 58.20 seconds then the 50-m freestyle in 24.44. 'It went well for me tonight,' said Lu who reached two finals at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. 'I feel more energized than ever. I'm really happy with the way I've recovered from the past races.' Massabie of the Pacific Sea Wolves broke the S5 Canadian record twice in the 50 freestyle. He swam 36.22 seconds in the morning preliminaries then 35.42 in the final. He broke the Canadian record in the S5 50-m butterfly twice on Monday. Nicholas Bennett, an S14 swimmer with the Red Deer Catalina Swim Club, swam 57.50 to lower his own Canadian record in the 100-m butterfly. The six-day trials, which run through Thursday, have attracted more than 700 swimmers to Saanich Commonwealth Place in Victoria. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2025. The Canadian Press
