Ruck races to four top-3 finishes at Pro Swim Series event
Following a record setting performance at the Commonwealth Games last month, Team Canada’s Taylor Ruck had another big medal haul at a Pro Swim Series event in Indianapolis.
On the final day of competition on Saturday, Ruck finished third in the 100m backstroke, giving her four podium finishes at the event. Ruck won the 100m freestyle and 200m backstroke events and finished third in the 50m backstroke.
The 17-year-old from Kelowna won two bronze medals with Canada’s women’s freestyle relay team at Rio 2016.
Ruck kicked the event off on Thursday by winning the 100m freestyle race with a time of 53.42 seconds, which was the fourth best time of her career. American Simone Manuel, the reigning world champion in the event, finished second with a time of 53.84.
On Friday, Ruck won the the 200m backstroke with a time of 2:08.11 and finished third in the 50m freestyle in 24.76. On Saturday, Ruck won her fourth and final medal of the meet, finishing third in the 100m backstroke with a time of 1:00.13.
Last month, Ruck’s eight medal performance at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games tied Canada’s Ralph Hutton (1966) and Australians Emily Seebohm (2010) and Susie O’Neill (1998) for the most medals won by an athlete at a single Games.
At the same Indianapolis event, Canada’s Kayla Sanchez won silver in the 200m individual medley with a time of 2:12.94.
Meanwhile, at the Atlanta Swim Classic, Canada’s Penny Oleksiak won the 200m butterfly with a time of 2:11.22.
