The Pan Pacific championships witnessed divergent outcomes for Canadian swimmers Taylor Ruck and Summer McIntosh in Irvine, California. Ruck secured a silver medal in the women’s 100m butterfly and later clinched bronze in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay, marking her fourth and fifth medals at the event, respectively. Her personal-best time of 56.71 seconds in the 100m butterfly placed her second, with American Gretchen Walsh claiming gold at 55.15 and Australian Alexandria Perkins securing bronze at 56.75.
Ruck expressed her joy after the 100m butterfly event, highlighting her preparation and trust in her performance. McIntosh, however, faced disappointment after winning the B final of the women’s 400m freestyle due to failing to qualify for the A final, attributing it to a misjudgment during the morning heats.
Despite McIntosh’s setback, she managed to secure a gold in the 400m individual medley after finishing second in the 200m freestyle event. Reflecting on her experience, McIntosh expressed frustration and vowed to analyze and rectify her training errors post-meet.
On the men’s side, Canadians Blake Tierney and Ethan Ekk claimed silver and bronze, respectively, in the men’s 200m backstroke. Tierney, the first-time international gold medalist, acknowledged the significance of their podium finishes.
Ruck further added to her medal haul by leading Canada to a bronze in the 4x100m freestyle relay event. The Canadian women’s team finished third, while the U.S. and Australia secured gold and silver, respectively. In contrast, the Canadian men’s 4x100m freestyle team narrowly missed a podium spot, finishing fourth behind the U.S., Australia, and Japan.