Taylor Ruck wins third gold medal of 2026 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials
The Taylor Ruck resurgence continues, with the swimmer now three for three at the 2026 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials in Montreal.
On Tuesday evening, the 26-year-old claimed her third gold medal of the meet, adding a victory in the women’s 100m butterfly to those she already had in the 100m backstroke and 100m freestyle. As the fastest qualifier from the heats, Ruck was in the middle of the pool in lane four. Coming off the turn, she had a healthy lead, and though she laboured a little in the closing 25 metres, she finished in 58.15. That still put her under the AQUA ‘A’ standard for the Pan Pacific Championships and 0.45 ahead of runner-up Leilani Fack. Matea Gigovic was third in 59.01.
Ruck first gained international acclaim a decade ago when she helped Canada win bronze medals in the women’s 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays at Rio 2016. Alongside teammate Penny Oleksiak, they became the first ever Olympic medallists born in the 2000s. Two years later, Ruck tied the record for most medals ever won at the Commonwealth Games, coming home with eight. But after some tougher years, a move to join the High Performance Centre Vancouver in the fall of 2025 seems to have paid off. In April, she dropped her personal best in the 100m butterfly to 57.71.
Finlay Knox took the gold medal in the men’s 100m butterfly, clocking 51.82 to place ahead of Raben Dommann (52.57) and Kent Goni Avila (52.87). Knox will race in his primary event, the 200m individual medley, on Wednesday.
Following the morning session, Swimming Canada announced that Summer McIntosh has withdrawn from the remainder of the Bell Canadian Swimming Trials due to illness. She had competed in the preliminary heats for the women’s 400m freestyle, but after consultation with her coach Bob Bowman and Swimming Canada’s medical staff, the decision was made to prioritize McIntosh’s health and recovery for the season ahead.
In a statement, McIntosh said “I’m so sorry” and went on to explain that she started feeling ill on Monday morning. Later that day, she won the women’s 400m individual medley, but her time was almost four seconds slower than the world record she set in 2025.
“There is so much magic in this pool, and I’m incredibly grateful I got to experience it. I’m so disappointed that I can’t continue racing in front of these amazing crowds, but my focus now is on getting healthy so I can be ready to represent Canada at the Pan Pacific Championships,” said McIntosh.
The 19-year-old was the talk of the swimming world when on the opening night of the Trials on Sunday she broke the oldest women’s world record. Her time of 2:01.65 in the 200m butterfly wiped out the mark of 2:01.81 by China’s Liu Zige that had stood since 2009.
With the world record holder absent from the women’s 400m freestyle final, the opportunity was there for Ella Jansen to take the victory in 4:08.05. Despite not swimming all out as she prepares to compete at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in a couple of weeks, Jansen was still under the AQUA ‘A’ standard for the Pan Pacific Championships in August. Ella Cosgrove came through for the silver medal in 4:11.66, just 0.08 ahead of Julie Brousseau.
The final of the men’s 400m freestyle got off to relatively leisurely start before Ethan Ekk picked up the pace past the midway mark. He finished in 3:47.22 for the win and a spot on the Pan Pacs team. Jordi Vilchez finished second in 3:50.12, with Lorne Wigginton third in 3:53.00. In his debut at the World Aquatics Championships last year, the then-18-year-old Ekk missed a spot in the eight-man 400m freestyle final by just one place.
The night finished with the 50m breaststroke events, which will make their Olympic debut two years from now at Los Angeles 2028. Sophie Angus grabbed the women’s gold medal in 30.40, under the selection standard for the Pan Pacs. Alexanne Lepage was second in 31.03 with Shona Branton third in 31.17.
Oliver Dawson, the 18-year-old who set the Canadian record in the men’s 50m breaststroke at 27.29 on May 23, was challenged by veteran Javier Acevedo in the final. Dawson clocked 27.65 to out-touch the swimmer 10 years his elder by just 0.03. Brayden Taivalasso was third in 27.84.
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.
