Joshua Liendo of Markham, Ontario, and Finlay Knox of Okotoks, Alberta, set Canadian records in swimming this past week at the Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials in Toronto, Ontario. Liendo set his record in the men’s 100 metre butterfly, and Knox set his record in the men’s 200 metre individual medley. Both Canadian swimmers have now qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021.
Liendo’s time was 51.40 seconds, which occurred in the heats. The old Canadian record belonged to Santo Condorelli, who had a time of 51.83 seconds in finishing in fifth place in the first semifinal of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Liendo’s time in the final of the men’s 100 metre butterfly of the Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials was 51.72 seconds, still 0.11 seconds faster than Condorelli’s time at the Olympic Games five years ago. The world record in the men’s 100 metre butterfly belongs to two-time American Olympic gold medalist Caeleb Dressel, who had a time of 49.50 seconds in the semifinals of the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, South Korea.
Knox’s time was 1:58.07 on Monday. The old Canadian record also belonged to Knox, as he swam a time of 1:58.88 at the High Performance Swim Trials in Toronto in May. The world record in the men’s 200 metre individual medley belongs to six-time Olympic champion Ryan Lochte of the United States, who had a time of 1:54.00 at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai, China.
