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 clinched bronze as part of the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team, marking her fourth and fifth medals of the competition. She achieved a personal-best time of 56.71 seconds in the 100m butterfly, finishing behind American Gretchen Walsh, who clocked 55.15. Australian Alexandria Perkins claimed the bronze in 56.75.
Ruck expressed her satisfaction with her performance, stating, “This one [the women’s 100m butterfly] was a lot of fun. I feel like I got good rest between prelims and finals, and did all the things just to try and feel relaxed, and just trust my body was going to do what it did.”
In contrast, McIntosh faced disappointment after failing to qualify for the A final of the women’s 400m freestyle event, despite winning the B final. She took full responsibility for the outcome, admitting, “I was very mad at myself and I take full responsibility for missing that A final… It was a complete misjudgment on my part.” McIntosh, who placed second in the women’s 200m freestyle event and won gold in the 400m individual medley, is determined to learn from the experience.
On the men’s side, Canadians Blake Tierney and Ethan Ekk secured silver and bronze, respectively, in the men’s 200m backstroke. Tierney expressed his excitement at both athletes being on the podium, with Japan’s Yumeki Kojima claiming the gold medal.
Ruck also contributed to Canada’s success in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay event, where they secured a bronze medal. The U.S. team took gold, while Australia claimed silver. However, the Canadian men’s 4x100m freestyle team narrowly missed a podium spot, finishing fourth behind the U.S., Australia, and Japan.
The competition continues with McIntosh racing in the 200m IM, where she holds world records and is both the Olympic and world champion.