Canadian swimmers Taylor Ruck and Summer McIntosh had contrasting performances at the Pan Pacific championships in Irvine, Calif. Ruck secured a silver medal in the women’s 100-metre butterfly and later added a bronze as part of the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team. These medals marked her fourth and fifth wins at the event. Ruck achieved a personal best time of 56.71 seconds in the 100m butterfly, finishing second behind American Gretchen Walsh. Australian Alexandria Perkins claimed the bronze with a time of 56.75 seconds.
Reflecting on her performance, Ruck expressed satisfaction with her race, emphasizing the importance of rest and trust in her preparation. McIntosh, on the other hand, faced disappointment after failing to qualify for the A final in the women’s 400m freestyle event despite winning the B final. She acknowledged her misjudgment in the heats and vowed to learn from the experience. McIntosh also shared her frustration at missing the final and her determination to improve.
In other events, McIntosh placed second in the women’s 200m freestyle behind Australian Lani Pallister and secured gold in the 400m individual medley. Pallister clinched the gold in the 400m freestyle A final, followed by Katie Ledecky and Erika Fairweather. McIntosh expressed difficulty in processing her disappointment but remained focused on upcoming races.
On the men’s side, Canadians Blake Tierney and Ethan Ekk claimed silver and bronze, respectively, in the men’s 200m backstroke. Tierney celebrated his breakthrough event, securing his first international gold medal in the men’s 100m backstroke. Meanwhile, Ruck contributed to Canada’s success by guiding the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team to a bronze medal.
The U.S. women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team clinched gold, with Canada settling for bronze. The Canadian men’s 4x100m freestyle team narrowly missed a podium spot, finishing fourth. The U.S., Australia, and Japan claimed the top three spots in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay.