Wog stakes claim to second race

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This article was published 21/06/2021 (1586 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

KELSEY Wog made it 2-for-2 at the Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials in Toronto Monday night.

The 22-year-old from Winnipeg followed up her gold medal in Sunday’s 100-metre women’s breaststroke final with a second-place finish in the 200-metre individual medley behind veteran Sydney Pickrem of Toronto. She has now staked a claim to an Olympic berth in both events.

Wog, a member of the University of Manitoba swim team, established a personal best by 0.3 seconds. She clocked a time of 2:10.21, just behind Pickrem’s 2:09.24.

Both times met the Olympic A standard.

Pickrem, a bronze medallist in the 200 IM at the 2019 world championships, was expected to get a serious challenge from Wog, who reached the semifinals in the same event at the 2019 worlds.

Wog was third in the opening butterfly leg of the race, fifth after the backstroke and third after the breaststroke before surging to the silver medal with a strong freestyle leg.

“I thought she certainly had the potential to get the (Olympic) spot (in the 200 IM),” said U of M head coach Vlastik Cerny by phone from Toronto. “I mean, Sydney Pickrem is the favourite in that event, so it’s gonna take a little bit more to knock her on that pedestal, but it was a close race.”

Pickrem and Wog also qualified 1-2 in Monday morning’s preliminaries.

Bailey Andison of Smith Falls, Ont., was third in 2:10.48. She was also under the A standard but will not make the Olympic team since each country is allowed a maximum of two swimmers per individual event at the Summer Games.

The Olympic qualifications will not be official until Wednesday when Swimming Canada unveils the national team lineup for next month’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Cerny was impressed with Wog’s performance but said her backstroke leg likely kept her from beating Pickrem.

“That’s typically where she’s at — it’s her weakest link,” said Cerny. “We’ve worked on it but even she came out afterwards and said, ‘I don’t think I pushed my backstroke hard enough.’ “

Wog is also expected to qualify for the Olympics in her favourite event, the 200-metre breaststroke, on Tuesday.

It will be a familiar group of contenders for Wog in the 200 breaststroke, including Pickrem and Kierra Smith of Kelowna, B.C.

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Smith, the gold medallist in the 200 breaststroke at 2015 Pan Am Games, and Pickrem finished third and fifth, respectively, in Sunday’s 100 breaststroke.

“It’s three days of racing back to back but she’s as fit as she’s ever been — there’s no reason why she can’t have a great time,” said Cerny of Wog’s chances.

Her breakthrough in the 100-metre breaststroke means Wog will also included on Canada’s 4×100 medley relay team, which should be a medal threat in Tokyo.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14

Mike Sawatzky
Reporter

Mike has been working on the Free Press sports desk since 2003.

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