Canada wins six swimming medals in Olympic events at the Mare Nostrum swim meet in France

Taylor Ruck (Kevin van Paassen, Canadian Olympic Committee) (with permission)

Canadian swimmers won six medals at the prestigious Mare Nostrum swim meet in Canet-en-Roussillon, France on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, Canadian Olympic gold medalist Penny Oleksiak of Scarborough, Ontario won the silver medal in the women’s 100 metre freestyle, two-time Canadian Olympic bronze medalist Taylor Ruck of Kelowna, British Columbia won the bronze medal in the women’s 200 metre backstroke and Kayla Sanchez of Scarborough, Ontario won bronze in the women’s 200 metre freestyle. Then on Wednesday, Mack Darragh of Mississauga, Ontario won silver in the men’s 200 metre butterfly, Kierra Smith of Vancouver, British Columbia won silver in the women’s 200 metre breaststroke and Ruck won bronze in the women’s 100 metre backstroke.

In the women’s 100 metre freestyle, Oleksiak had a second place time of 58.45 seconds. Svetlana Chimrova of Russia won the gold medal with a time of 57.92 seconds. Marie Wattel of France won the bronze medal with a time of 58.45 seconds. Oleksiak earned a medal by 0.27 seconds over Canadian Rebecca Smith of Red Deer, Alberta, who was in fourth place with a time of 58.72 seconds.

In the women’s 200 metre backstroke, Ruck had a third place time of two minutes, 11.24 seconds. Phoebe Bacon of the United States won the gold medal with a time of two minutes, 9.57 seconds. Alexandra Walsh of the United States won the silver medal with a time of two minutes, 10.53 seconds. Ruck earned a medal by 0.55 seconds over Simona Kibova of the Czech Republic, who finished in fourth place with a time of two minutes, 11.79 seconds.

In the women’s 200 metre freestyle, Sanchez had a third place time of one minute, 57.88 seconds. Siobhan-Bernadette Haughey of Hong Kong won the gold medal with a time of one minute, 56.91 seconds. Charlotte Bonnet of France won the silver medal with a time of one minute, 57.83 seconds. Sanchez earned a medal by 0.76 seconds over Katinka Hosszu of Hungary, who was in fourth place with a time of one minute, 58.64 seconds.

In the women’s 200 metre breaststroke, Kierra Smith had a second place time of two minutes, 24.92 seconds. Yuliya Efimova of Russia won the gold medal with a time of two minutes, 23.41 seconds. Jessica Vall of Spain won the bronze medal with a time of two minutes, 25.54 seconds. Smith reached the podium by 0.64 seconds over Marina Garcia Urzainqui of Spain, who was in fourth place with a time of two minutes, 25.56 seconds.

In the women’s 100 metre backstroke, Ruck had a third place time of one minute, .18 seconds. Bacon won the gold medal with a time of 59.92 seconds. Kubova won the silver medal with a time of one minute, .01 seconds. Ruck earned a medal by 0.5 seconds over Sanchez, who finished in fourth place with a time of one minute, .68 seconds.

In the men’s 200 metre butterfly, Darragh had a second place time of one minute, 57.89 seconds. Daiya Seto of Japan won the gold medal with a time of one minute, 56.25 seconds. Luiz-Altamir Melo of Brazil won the bronze medal with a time of one minute, 58.85 seconds. Darragh earned a medal by 1.41 seconds over Carson Foster of the United States, who was in fourth place with a time of one minute, 59.3 seconds.

In the competition, Oleksiak also won gold in the women’s 50 metre butterfly, in an event that does not have full Olympic medal status. The medals for Oleksiak, Ruck, Kierra Smith, Darragh and Sanchez will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. 

 

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