Oleksiak wins 50m butterfly gold at the Mare Nostrum in France
On Wednesday, Olympic champion Penny Oleksiak won 50m butterfly gold at the Mare Nostrum in Canet-en-Roussillon, France.
Fellow Rio 2016 Olympian Mack Darragh won silver in the 200m butterfly event.
Oleksiak finished fifth overall in the qualifying round with a time of 26.70. In the final, she improved to 26.05, finishing ahead of France’s Béryl Gastaldello (26.15) and Russian Arina Surkova (26.17).
Canada’s Penny Oleksiak races to gold in the women’s 100m freestyle finals during the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Darragh won Canada’s second medal of the day. The Ontario native finished the race with a time of 1:57.89, behind Japan’s Taiya Seto (1:56.25) and ahead of Brazilian Luiz-Altamir Melo (1:58.85).
In the qualifying round Darragh finished third overall with a time of 1:59.67.
Canada’s Mackenzie Darragh competes in his men’s 200m butterfly heat at the Aquatic Centre during the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia, Saturday, April 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Kierra Smith also swam to a silver, in the women’s 200m breaststroke.
Taylor Ruck won her second medal of the meet, swimming a time of 1:00.18 in women’s 100m backstroke to win the bronze. She beat teammate Kayla Sanchez, who finished in fourth with a time of 1:00.68.
Canada leaves this stop of the Mare Nostrum Tour with a total of seven medals.
Tuesday
Canada’s Oleksiak, Sanchez and Ruck won a trio of medals at the second stop of the Mare Nostrum circuit on Tuesday.
(left to right) Kayla Sanchez, Penny Oleksiak, Rebecca Smith and Taylor Ruck (back right) hug after the Women’s 200 Free at the 2019 Canadian Swimming Trials in Toronto on Saturday April 6, 2019. The four top finishers will be the relay team for the world championships. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Oleksiak finished second in the 100m freestyle with a time of 58.45 seconds. She was bested by Russia’s Svetlana Chimrova, who claimed the gold with a time of 57.92. France’s Marie Wattel finished in third, 0.3 seconds behind Oleksiak. Canada’s Rebecca Smith finished in fourth place.
Oleksiak is the reigning Olympic champion in the women’s 100m freestyle event.
READ: Oleksiak breaks Olympic record, makes history winning 100m free gold in Rio
Ruck picked up a bronze in the 200m backstroke. Ahead of her on the podium were Americans Phoebe Bacon and Alexandra Walsh, respectively.
At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Ruck won silver in the 200m backstroke event.
Women’s 200m backstroke gold medalist Team Canada’s Kylie Masse, right, embraces silver medalist and compatriot Taylor Ruck, left, on the podium at the Aquatic Centre during the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia, Sunday, April 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
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Canada’s third medal was won by Sanchez in the women’s 200m freestyle. Hong Kong’s Siobhan-Bernadette Haughey won the gold while Frenchwoman Charlotte Bonnet captured the silver.
Sanchez was also a member of Canada’s 2018 Commonwealth Games team, winning two silver team relay medals.
Team Canada’s Penny Oleksiak, left, Kayla Sanchez, Alexia Zevnik, and Taylor Ruck, right, hold their silver medals for the women’s 4×100 freestyle relay during swimming finals at the Commonwealth Games Thursday, April 5, 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Kierra Smith almost reached the podium in the 100m breaststroke, finishing the race in fourth place.
On the men’s side, Canada’s best result came from Yuri Kisil, who finished 3rd in Finals B for the 50m freestyle.
Competition continues through Wednesday in France. The Mare Nostrum Swim Tour will conclude this weekend in Barcelona, Spain.
