(Toronto) Tom Brady. Phil Mickelson. Jaromir Jagr. Roger Federer. Coach Tom Johnson was listing these legends of the sport over which age does not seem to have a hold, or very little. Soon, it may be necessary to classify his protege Brent Hayden in this category.
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After a seven-year swim break – and an unexpected 12-month extension – the swimmer from Mission, B.C., won his bet. At 37, he will return to the Olympics.
“I’m living the best moments of my life right now,” said Hayden, still breathless and especially very moved, coming out of the water after his last-minute victory in the 50 freestyle of the Canadian Olympic Trials on Monday night in Toronto.
Trailing young Josh Liendo, who is half his age, the former 100m world champion came back to hit the wall first. Its time: 21.82 s. The second of his career. At 9 hundredths of its national brand established in 2009 in combinations that are now banned.
Hayden, who thus becomes the oldest Canadian Olympic swimmer in history, expressed his joy by letting his lane neighbor, Liendo, take his bald head, who also clocked the qualifying time (21.90 s).
During the post-race interview, he was able to see on the giant screen his wife Nadina, from whom he has been separated for a month due to the swimming pool at the Vancouver National Center being closed for maintenance. It is the first who believed in the return of her husband, undertaken in 2019 during a stay in Lebanon, her country of origin. His wish: to regain the love of his sport after an end of career marked by back injuries and mental health issues.
“It’s a dream coming true right now,” commented Hayden, who retired in 2012 after his bronze medal in the 100 freestyle at the London Olympics.
I know that sounds cliché. I am an Olympian for the fourth time! I can add this to the list when I thought it was over.
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Brent Hayden
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He then congratulated Liendo, 18, without whom he would “not be here”. “I take my hat off to him. I think he was fantastic. I don’t know if I would have done 21.80 s without him. I felt like he was pulling me. He had a great start. He was born after I qualified for my first national team. I couldn’t ask for a better story than this. ”
“Let’s talk about the Sasquatch! Johnson joked with Press referring to Hayden’s old nickname.
In the eyes of the coach, his protégé is a “catalyst” for Canadian men’s swimming, which has been rebuilding for two Olympic cycles.
“It’s generational to a point,” said the native Montrealer. There are older guys. You want the Corey Perry on your team. There is room for all these guys. ”
Already winner of the 100m butterfly in record time, Ontarian Liendo is leading a new generation with Finlay Knox, who qualified for the 200 IM on Monday, and Cole Pratt, who will also be in Tokyo in the 100m backstroke. Markus Thormeyer and Yuri Kisil, who were in Rio in 2016, have also benefited from Hayden’s return, Johnson added.
PHOTO FRANK GUNN, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Joshua Liendo
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“The most important thing for me is the human being he has become,” said the coach. From a boy who had problems and challenges and a few quirks, he just kept developing. He is a businessman [dans le vêtement], a spokesperson, he is articulate, empathetic and inclusive with everyone else. What a great guy and what a great story! ”
Johnson spoke of modern sport, how older athletes maintain their bodies, are sensitive to rest, know when to stop. He suggested reading the free Play On, which deals with these topics.
“Brent has always stood up. When he’s tired, he says it: I can’t take it anymore. It bends, but doesn’t break. Intuitively, you know he’s telling the truth. It’s so much better for a coach. ”
Johnson, who has coached for nearly 50 years, is all the more impressed given that Hayden has hardly competed in a year, who is fueled by early signals and short-term goals.
“It’s not the same to do time trials with your daily training partners. We see him in Montreal with 2,500 people in the stands. What a change it makes! ”
Can he do better at the Tokyo Olympics? “He has to,” Johnson replied. He wants to be in the game. I think he will have to go under 21.50 s to be in the final. From there anything can happen. Intuitively, it’s such a good racer. It will rise to the level of competition. ”
He will have one last chance to show it.
Fatigue for Harvey
Practically qualified for her first Olympics after her fifth place the day before in the 200 freestyle, which should give her a position in the relay, Mary-Sophie Harvey did not succeed in her bet to add an individual event to her program. The 21-year-old Montrealer finished fourth in the 200m individual medley won by favorite Sydney Pickrem. “It’s certainly disappointing, another fourth place,” commented the one who finished in the same row in the 100 backstroke. It seems to be my favorite spot at the moment. It’s a little frustrating. After seven races for a total of 1,400 meters between the cables, she decided to take a day off Tuesday, skip the 200m butterfly and bet everything on Wednesday’s 400 IM.
Brown does the show
PHOTO FRANK GUNN, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Eric Brown
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Relegated to the slower wave on Saturday noon, Eric Brown achieved a Quebec record that went a little unnoticed in the 400 freestyle. His time of 3:53:66, 41 hundredths better than Nathan Beaudin-Bolduc, put him in fourth place overall. The representative of the Pointe-Claire club put it back brilliantly on Monday night, winning the 1,500 freestyle thanks to another provincial record, leading the race from start to finish. Even though he was relatively far from the Olympic qualifying time of 15:09 99, his time of 15:19 69 dropped the benchmark of 15:24 66 which had belonged to Philippe Guertin since 2015. At 18 years old, the Montrealer has a bright future ahead of him. “It’s all a racer “, Praised his trainer Martin Gingras, in heaven with his assistant Philip Garverick in the stands. Their enthusiasm – you must have seen Gingras spinning a towel – somewhat compensated for the absence of spectators. Such a performance should earn Brown a nice scholarship to the United States, where he plans to head in a year.
Two sprints with a Quebec flavor
The Quebecers were well represented in the two finals of the 50m, without having any real candidates for the qualifying time A. Sarah Fournier, of the CNQ of Quebec, was the most distinguished with a second place, more than one half-second from the winner and selected for the Olympics, Ontarian Kayla Sanchez (24.68 s). Katerine Savard finished fourth, ahead of Roxane Lemieux, of Boucherville. For men, half of the 10 starters came from Quebec. Mehdi Ayoubi finished fifth ahead of Spencer Bougie and the brothers Philippe and Raphaël Marcoux, from Beauce.
McIntosh adds 800 freestyle to Olympic program
PHOTO FRANK GUNN, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Summer McIntosh
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As of this writing, on the terrace of the Pan Am Sports Center in Toronto, a 14-year-old teenager, accompanied by her mother, listens to coach Ben Titley recounting her victory in the 800 freestyle, where she tickled Brittany MacLean’s Canadian record, standing in the stands to cheer her on. Summer McIntosh is the new pearl of Canadian swimming and Titley seems to take jealous care of her. It’s hard to believe that at the 2016 Olympic Trials, she was taking a picture of herself with Penny Oleksiak by the pool. She was 9 years old. “I would never have imagined myself to be part of the team five years later,” she said on Monday. But a year and a half ago that was my goal. The rest promises to be fascinating.
THIS TUESDAY
100 m free, where Oleksiak and Hayden will start favorites, 200 m butterfly, where Savard will try the big shot without his friend Mary-Sophie Harvey, and 200 m breaststroke
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