Ruck’s golden run continues as Jansen adds third title at 2026 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials
Taylor Ruck and Ella Jansen continued to set the pace on the penultimate night of the 2026 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials in Montréal, with both swimmers adding another gold medal to their standout Trial campaigns.
Ruck captured the women’s 50m freestyle title to collect her fourth victory of the week, while Jansen claimed the women’s 200m individual medley crown for a third gold and fourth medal overall.
Ruck, a four-time Olympic medallist, was in control from the start, touching in 24.68 to finish nearly six-tenths of a second ahead of the field. The win continued an impressive Trials for the 26-year-old, who has been one of the meet’s most dominant performers through the first four nights of racing.
READ: Taylor Ruck in exclusive company with third gold medal of 2026 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials
Leilani Fack secured the silver medal in 25.26, holding off Sarah Fournier by just 0.02 seconds. Kylie Masse and Kayla Sanchez were scratched from the final.
Yuri Kisil sprinted to victory in the men’s 50m freestyle, touching the wall in 22.31. Kisil held off the field by 0.27 seconds, finishing ahead of Chris Weeks, who claimed silver in 22.58. Luke Stewart-Beinder rounded out the podium in 22.74
Ella Jansen continued her dominant run, capturing her third gold medal after adding the women’s 200m individual medley title to victories in the 200m and 400m freestyle.
Jansen touched the wall in 2:12.28, lowering her personal best by three tenths of a second from the 2:12.57 she set in April. The Paris 2024 Olympian led from the start to win by more than two seconds. Summer McIntosh and Mary-Sophie Harvey were absent from the race due to illness.
Summer Cardwell claimed silver in 2:14.58, while Brooklyn Douthwright rounded out the podium in 2:15.56.
Finlay Knox captured his second gold medal in as many days, winning the men’s 200m individual medley in 1:57.80, with another strong performance in his signature event. Knox took control of the race during the backstroke leg and held off a late challenge from Lorne Wigginton to secure the victory.
Wigginton finished second in a personal-best 1:59.01, a time that was just enough to meet the AQUA ‘A’ qualifying standard for the Pan Pacific Championships in August. Tristan Jankovics rounded out the podium in 2:00.37.
The evening concluded with the 200m breaststroke finals, where Alexanne Lepage delivered one of the biggest performances of the night, capturing her first gold medal of the Trials in the women’s event.
Lepage exploded off the blocks and established an early lead, holding an advantage of nearly seven-tenths of a second ahead of the field after the first 50 metres. She maintained her advantage throughout the race, touching the wall in a lifetime-best 2:23.03 to secure the victory and meet the qualifying standard for the Pan Pacific Championships.
The performance wasn’t only a personal best for Lepage, but also ranked as the seventh-fastest time in the world this year in the women’s 200m breaststroke.
“That’s the best time, I’m super happy with that,” Lepage said.
“I think just keep on building my stroke, and the crowd was super loud. I could definitely hear everyone cheering, so that was super great.”
Sophie Angus was back on the podium to claim silver in 2:27.03, while Shima Taghavi finished third in 2:29.55.
Oliver Dawson captured the men’s 200m breaststroke title in 2:09.50. Dawson delivered a composed swim to secure the gold, finishing comfortably ahead of Apollo Hess, who took silver in 2:11.40. Nathan Thomas rounded out the podium in 2:12.12.
You can catch all the action as the Trials continue through Thursday. CBC Gem and https://www.cbc.ca/player/sports/live will stream each session beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET/6:30 a.m. PT for heats and 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT for finals. Every session will also be live on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CBCSports/streams.
