The Canadian swimmers Taylor Ruck and Summer McIntosh had contrasting performances at the Pan Pacific championships in Irvine, California. Ruck secured a silver medal in the women’s 100m butterfly and later added a bronze as part of the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team, bringing her total medals at the competition to five. She achieved a personal best time of 56.71 seconds in the 100m butterfly, finishing second behind American Gretchen Walsh, who clocked 55.15. Australian Alexandria Perkins claimed the bronze with a time of 56.75.
Ruck expressed her satisfaction with her performance, mentioning that she felt well-rested and trusted her body to deliver. McIntosh, on the other hand, faced disappointment after winning the B final of the women’s 400m freestyle event but failing to qualify for the A final due to a misjudgment in the morning heats. She took full responsibility for the error and vowed to learn from it.
In the men’s events, Canadians Blake Tierney and Ethan Ekk secured silver and bronze, respectively, in the men’s 200m backstroke. Tierney won the men’s 100m backstroke earlier, marking his first international gold. McIntosh, despite her setback in the 400m freestyle, is gearing up for the 200m IM event where she holds world records and titles.
Ruck continued her medal haul by guiding the Canadian team to a bronze in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay. The U.S. women’s team claimed gold, while the Australian team took silver. However, the Canadian men’s 4x100m freestyle team narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth behind the U.S., Australia, and Japan.