Dinos, Thunderbirds hold early leads at CW Swimming Championships
Day 1 Recap
CALGARY – Stephen Calkins broke his own conference record in both prelims and finals to headline a strong first day of action at the 2023 Canada West Swimming Championships Friday evening inside the UCalgary Aquatic Centre.
Through the first 10 events, the UBC women hold a 280.5-211 lead over Calgary. Alberta (83), Lethbridge (80), Victoria (79), Manitoba (68.5) and Regina (32) round out the women’s scoring after Day 1.
Things are a little tighter on the men’s side. The Dinos sit in first with 265 points, while UBC is second at 165 and Alberta third at 129. Lethbridge (94), Victoria (70), Manitoba (53), Regina (47) and Thompson Rivers (1) round out the men’s scoring.
The night started with a strong showing by the Thunderbirds in the 800m freestyle. One year after bringing home the silver medal, Anna Dumont-Belanger claimed gold with a time of 8:50.36. Teammate Rosalie Davidson touched the wall second in 8:51.30, while Calgary’s Emily De Jager placed third in 8:51.49.
On the men’s side, UBC’s Olivier Risk claimed the men’s 1500m in 15:29.16. Diego Paz of Alberta brought home the silver with a time of 15:38.50, while Xavier Pimentel finished bronze in 15:40.86 in his home pool.
It was a UBC sweep in the women’s 50m butterfly. Eloise Allen claimed her first of two gold medals on the day in 26.63, while Sela Wist was second at 27.47 and Alicia L’Acheveque third at 27.51.
Calkins then stole the headlines with his first finals swim of the night. After already breaking his own conference record in the 50m fly prelims with a time of 23.63, the Calgary product lowered that mark to 23.56 in finals in a thrilling repeat win. Siu Lun Ho of UBC repeated his silver medal in 23.82, while Thomas McDonald’s time of 23.96 made it a 1-3 finish for the Dinos.
Eloise Allen brought home her second gold in as many events with a win in the 50m backstroke with a winning time of 27.49. Teammate Bridget Burton claimed silver in 27.84 while Calgary’s Hannah Johnsen won bronze in 27.88.
Chris Alexander brought home a gold medal for the Pronghorns in the men’s 50 backstroke. The fifth year clocked in at 24.54 to beat out Hugh McNeill (25.03) of UBC and Calkins (25.05).
In the 50m breaststroke, Alicia L’Acheveque completed the sweep by the Thunderbirds in women’s individual medals on the night with a win in 31.51. Delaney Lehman of Lethbridge earned the silver medal in 31.80, while Madison Macor of Calgary earned the bronze in 32.11.
Lethbridge then claimed their second win of the night when Tristan Bennett won the men’s 50 breaststroke in 27.59. The Dinos picked up the other two podium spots in the event as Stephen Moore (27.66) was second and Ian Cameron (27.93) was third.
Solidifying their places in the overall team standings the UBC women and Calgary men finished out the night claiming wins in the 800m freestyle relay.
Day 2 gets underway Saturday with prelims starting at 10 a.m. and finals set for 5 p.m.