Ruck claims women's 50m freestyle to win 4th title of Canadian swimming trials

Ruck claims women's 50m freestyle to win 4th title of Canadian swimming trials

Reid Maxwell, Shelby Newkirk break set national Para records on Day 4 in Montreal

Taylor Ruck continued her dominance on Day 4 of Canadian swimming trials in Montreal.

The 26-year-old from Kelowna claimed her fourth title of the event after capturing the women's 50-metre freestyle in a time of 25.68 seconds on Wednesday.

"It's really cool to see the consistency ... It's just encouraging heading into Pan Pacs now," she told CBC Sports after the race.

"I feel maybe a little more light ... I'm a different person, a different swimmer now."

Two Canadian Para records fall on Day 4 of the 2026 Canadian Swimming Trials | Recap

Ruck's latest title follows her 100m backstroke win on Sunday and 100m freestyle on Monday, as well as her 100m butterfly victory on Tuesday, which made her the second Canadian swimmer to achieve three titles in three different strokes at an individual national trial.

Rounding out the podium was Leilani Fack (25.26) in second and Sarah Fournier (25.28) in third position.

Ruck joins McIntosh as only Canadians to win 3 titles in 3 different strokes at a national trials

Decorated swimmer Kylie Masse commits to 2028 Olympics after 6-month reset at home

Earlier in the day, 2024 Olympian Mary-Sophie Harvey announced her withdrawal from the 200m IM final due to illness.

The 26-year-old's announcement followed Summer McIntosh's withdrawal prior to Day 3 of the competition, also due to illness.

Maxwell, Newkirk set Para records

Elsewhere, Reid Maxwell, of St. Albert, Alta., set a Canadian record in the men's 50m freestyle S9 with a time of 27.78.

The rising teen has won a silver at both the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris and more recently the 2025 world championships in Singapore.

"Finishing off [trials] on this is good. Kind of what I wanted, I wanted to be right on where I normally am, so I can't really complain too much," Maxwell told CBC Sports.

"I'm just really excited to go to Scotland [for the Commonwealth Games]."

Canada's Reid Maxwell reflects on setting 50m freestyle swimming national record

Shelby Newkirk, of Saskatoon, swam to a time of 1:57.71 to breaking her own national record in the women's 100m breaststroke SB5.

"I'm really excited about [the record], this morning me and my coach kind of talked and we were like, 'hey, we want that Canadian record' ... I went out really fast, I wasn't sure I could hold up, but really happy with the time in the end," Newkirk told CBC Sports.

"Saying your goals out loud brings them a little bit closer, it actually means something. ... I feel like it's good pressure."

Saskatoon's Shelby Newkirk breaks her own Canadian record at swim trials

Oliver Dawson posted a time of 2:09.50 to win the men's 200m breaststroke, finishing less than a second off of Mike Brown's Canadian record that dates back to 2008.

Alexanne Lepage, meanwhile, posted a strong time of 2:23.03 to win the women's 200m breaststroke.

Lepage's time is the seventh-fastest in the world so far this season and marked a personal best.