The Pan Pacific championships showcased contrasting outcomes for Canadian swimmers Taylor Ruck and Summer McIntosh in Irvine, Calif. Ruck secured a silver medal in the women’s 100m butterfly event and later claimed bronze as part of the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team. These victories marked her fourth and fifth medals of the competition. In the 100m butterfly, the 26-year-old from Kelowna, B.C., set a personal best time of 56.71 seconds, finishing behind American Gretchen Walsh, who clinched gold in 55.15 seconds. Australian Alexandria Perkins secured the bronze medal with a time of 56.75.

Ruck expressed her satisfaction with her performance, stating, “This one [the women’s 100m butterfly] was a lot of fun. I feel like I got good rest between prelims and finals, and did all the things just to try and feel relaxed, and just trust my body was going to do what it did.”

In contrast, McIntosh faced disappointment as the world-record holder failed to qualify for the A final in the women’s 400m freestyle event. McIntosh took full responsibility for her performance, admitting her mistake and expressing frustration over missing the final. McIntosh, however, managed to secure a second-place finish in the women’s 200m freestyle event and claimed gold in the 400m individual medley.

On the men’s side, Canadians Blake Tierney and Ethan Ekk secured silver and bronze, respectively, in the men’s 200m backstroke. Tierney attributed his success to dedicated training, marking a breakthrough event where he secured his first international gold.

Ruck continued her success by leading Canada to a bronze medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay event. Alongside her teammates, Ruck finished in a time of 3:36.44. The U.S. team claimed gold, followed by Australia with silver.

The Canadian men’s 4x100m freestyle team narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth. The U.S. secured gold in this event, with Australia and Japan taking silver and bronze, respectively.