Joshua Liendo of Markham, Ontario broke two Canadian records at the 2022 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials in Victoria, British Columbia, which finished on Sunday. In the men’s 100 metre butterfly this past Wednesday, Liendo had a time of 50.88 seconds, and then in the men’s 50 metre freestyle on Sunday, Liendo set a Canadian record with a time of 21.63 seconds.
Liendo broke his own Canadian record in the men’s 100 metre butterfly. He had a time of 51.40 seconds at the 2021 Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials in Toronto. In the men’s 50 metre freestyle, Liendo broke the record previously set by Canadian Olympic bronze medalist Brent Hayden of Mission, British Columbia, at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome. Hayden had a time of 21.73 seconds.
Canadian swimmers set three more national records in Victoria this past week. In the men’s 200 metre individual medley on April 5, Finlay Knox of Okotoks, Alberta set the Canadian record with a time of 1:57.50. Knox had the old record of 1:58.07 set at the 2021 Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials in Toronto.
In the women’s 400 metre freestyle on April 5, Summer McIntosh of Toronto, Ontario had a time of 4:01.59. McIntosh had the old Canadian record of 4:02.42 set at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, when she finished fourth. Also in the women’s 50m backstroke, Canadian Olympic silver medalist Kylie Masse of Windsor, Ontario broke her own Canadian record with a time of 27.18 seconds on Wednesday. Masse had the old Canadian record of 27.52 seconds at the Canadian Trials Selection Prep Invite, set on March 4, 2022.
Hayden won an Olympic bronze medal for Canada in the men’s 100 metre freestyle at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Masse won two Olympic silver medals for Canada at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. They came in the women’s 100 metre and 200 metre backstroke. The Canadian records for Liendo, Knox, McIntosh will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.