TORONTO — Canada's Olympic and Paralympic swim trials have been moved from Montreal to Toronto.
The trials to determine Canada's swim teams for the Paris Summer Games were originally scheduled to be held at Montreal's Olympic pool May 13-19.
But it was announced last week the pool will be closed four-to-six months because of smoke and water damage from a March 21 fire outside Olympic Stadium.
Swimming Canada announced Monday that Toronto's Pan Am Sports Centre will be the site of the trials on the same dates.
“It wasn’t an easy decision and it won’t be perfect but we believe, taking all into consideration, it is the best decision with only five weeks to go before the meet,” Swimming Canada Acting CEO Suzanne Paulins said in a statement.
"No one anticipated this, but everyone did their best to find viable solutions.”
Built for the 2015 Pan American Parapan American Games, Toronto's pool was the venue for the 2016 and 2021 Olympic and Paralympic trials, as well as a leg of the 2022 Swimming World Cup.
Swimming Canada looked at holding the trials at Montreal's Claude Robillard Sports Complex and also considered the University of Laval in Quebec City. But it opted for Toronto's well-tested venue.
“We looked at every possible option of remaining in Montreal, while also considering two other options, PEPS in Quebec City and TPASC in Toronto,” Paulins said. “All three had different limitations and every factor was taken into consideration."
The competition venue requires not only a 50-metre racing pool, but a warm-up pool as well, adequate capacity for participants and spectators, and broadcast and digital streaming capabilities.
“Although we are disappointed that the trials will not be held in Montreal or Quebec, we understand the need for an environment that promotes athlete preparation and performance," said Federation de natation du Quebec executive director Francis Menard.
"We support Swimming Canada in this choice. At the same time, this situation highlights the vulnerability of our sport for holding a world-class event in Quebec.
"We are counting on our partners to find a solution to promote the development of swimming.”
Swimming Canada explored set-up of a temporary second 50-metre pool at Claude-Robillard, but said it wouldn't have been ready by the time trials began.
Facility accessibility for Paralympic athletes was also a factor, the organization said in its statement.
“Representing Team Canada at Olympics and Paralympics is the pinnacle of our sport. We had to minimize compromise for our athletes in order for them, along with their coaches, to maximize their performance,” Swimming Canada's high-performance director and national coach John Atkinson said in the statement.
"This was very critical in getting to this decision. When considering a hundredth of a second is all important in our sport when striving to make standards, this will be the right decision to safeguard performances."
Swimming Canada also said athletes advocated for Toronto as a replacement given the availability of a second 50-metre warm-up pool and its history of hosting national and international events.
“TPASC is a great facility,” Olympian Mary-Sophie Harvey of Montreal’s CAMO club.
"Summer McIntosh swam two world records at trials last year. There’s a lot of fast swimming and good history in this pool and I’m sure we’ll see some more.”
Paralympic swimmer Tess Routliffe was among swimmers who trained in Montreal's Olympic pool who have been forced to find alternate locations due to the fire and damage.
“TPASC is a great pool,” Routliffe said. “Nothing is going to be perfect but I think it’s the best situation for what’s going on.
"We’ve been fast in that pool before, the environment is good and we hope the atmosphere will be as good as it was going to be in Quebec. We’re there to swim fast.”
Swimming Canada says it will offer assistance to those needing accommodation in Toronto, or facing additional costs due to travel changes.
Canada's swim team is expected to be a multi-medal contender in the pool, led by Toronto teenager McIntosh, who holds the world record in the women's 400-meter individual medley.
Canada can take a maximum 52 swimmers to Paris. Athletes who finish top two in their finals and swim under an Olympic qualifying time will earn nomination to Canada's Olympic team to get their tickets to Paris.
Canada can take up to 22 swimmers to the Paralympic Games. Aurelie Rivard of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., is the country's most decorated women in Paralympic swimming with 10 medals, including five gold.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2024.
The Canadian Press
