Lorne Wigginton breaks 18-year-old Canadian men’s 400m IM record
Lorne Wigginton made his mark on the second night of the 2026 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials, breaking an 18-year-old Canadian record in the men’s 400m individual medley on Sunday in Montréal.
The 20-year-old touched the wall in 4:11.32 to win the national title, lowering the previous Canadian record of 4:11.41 set by Brian Johns in 2008. The performance adds another milestone to Wigginton’s continued progression following his Olympic debut at Paris 2024.
Tristan Jankovics finished second in 4:16.57, while Jacques Harrison rounded out the podium in 4:20.78.
Less than 24 hours after rewriting the world record books, Summer McIntosh made it two titles in as many days.
The three-time Olympic gold medallist won the women’s 400m individual medley on Monday, touching the wall in 4 minutes and 27.35 seconds. The performance came 3.70 seconds shy of the world record of 4:23.65 that she established at last year’s Canadian Trials in Vancouver.
The victory also came one day after McIntosh delivered one of the defining swims of her career, breaking the longest-standing women’s world record in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:01.65. 19-year-old McIntosh said she was focused on staying even-keeled heading into her second event of the meet.
READ: Summer McIntosh erases the oldest women’s swimming world record
“One of my old coaches told me a long time ago not to get too high on the highs, not too low on the lows,” she said. “I really try to apply that throughout the entire meet. Coming off last night, obviously there was a lot of excitement, but I kind of tried to compartmentalize it and just focus on the next race.”
McIntosh admitted she wasn’t fully satisfied with her performance in the 400 IM but believes there is still more to come.
“I’ve broken the 400 IM world record three years in a row, so my streak is finally broken,” she said. “I need to look back at my splits and see where I went wrong, but I know I have a lot more in me.”
Ella Jansen claimed the silver medal in 4:38.17, while Mary-Sophie Harvey rounded out the podium in 4:43.26. The medals marked each swimmer’s second of the week, with Jansen adding to her 200m freestyle title and Harvey building on her runner-up finish in the 200m butterfly.
Four-time Olympic medallist Kylie Masse added another win to her decorated career, claiming her first title of the week in the women’s 50m backstroke with a winning time of 27.35. Ingrid Wilm followed closely behind to take silver in 27.82, while Madison Kryger rounded out the podium in 28.27.
Javier Acevedo sprinted to victory in the men’s 50m backstroke, powering to the title in 25.10. Loïc Courville-Fortin finished second in 25.34. Blake Tierney touched in 25.36 to finish third and add another podium to his week after winning the men’s 100m backstroke title on Sunday.
Taylor Ruck continued her strong start to Trials, winning the women’s 100m freestyle in 53.06 seconds. The victory came one night after the four-time Olympic medallist captured the 100m backstroke title, a result that secured her place on Canada’s Pan Pacific Championships roster. The 26-year-old has now collected two individual titles in Montreal.
Sarah Fournier earned silver in 54.75, while Leah Tigert finished third in 54.76. For Fournier, the podium finish carried special meaning, describing the medal as a symbol of resilience and a reflection of the work she has put in.
Ruslan Gaziev captured the men’s 100m freestyle title in 48.69, finishing ahead of Antoine Sauvé (49.16) and Finlay Knox (49.20).
You can catch all the action throughout the week. 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.
