OTTAWA – Swimming Canada has nominated a group of 26 athletes who will be focused on contributing to the Canadian medal count when they dive into the pool for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, April 4-15, 2018.

The national body for swimming in Canada will field a stellar lineup of 16 women and 10 men who bring a combination of veteran leadership with youthful energy and drive – with 10 athletes under the age of 20.

“This is a young, yet dynamic and strong team of athletes who have proven they can perform under some of the most intense pressure at major international meets,” said John Atkinson, high-performance director and team leader, Swimming Canada. “With our young veterans leading the way, we established more depth in the program this summer where we saw a number of swimmers perform exceptionally well in a series of Championships and Games that were used as selection meets for our Commonwealth Games team. This event will be another critical benchmark and measuring stick for our team as we continue to build towards the 2020 Olympic Summer Games. It will provide our top athletes with another major test, while giving our rookies additional international race experience in a Games environment which will serve us well in the pursuit of our goals in 2020.”

The team of Canadian swimmers replete with medal potential will be led by 11 athletes who competed at the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in Rio along including medallists Penny Oleksiak, Taylor Ruck, Hilary Caldwell and Kylie Masse, who set a new world record in the 100-metre backstroke final at the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary this summer.

“I am so very excited to attend the Commonwealth Games in Australia,” said Masse. “I am looking forward to travelling to a new country to compete. Every major competition in the next few years is important for us in the lead-up and preparation for Tokyo 2020.”

The deep contingent of talented Canucks in the pool will contain five athletes who competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games along with seven rookies on the senior swim team.

The list of Canadian swimmers nominated to the 2018 Commonwealth Games Team includes:

Name                                    Hometown                     Club                        

Women

Hilary Caldwell*                      White Rock, B.C.            Island Swimming/HPC-VIC

Sarah Darcel*                        Victoria                           Island Swimming/HPC-VIC

Jade Hannah*                         Halifax                            Island Swimming/NextGen

Mary-Sophie Harvey               Trois-Rivières, Que.      Neptune Natation

Faith Knelson*                        Ladysmith, B.C.             Island Swimming/NextGen

Kylie Masse                            Windsor, Ont.                Windsor Essex Swim Team

Rachel Nicol                           Lethbridge, Alta.            Lethbridge Amateur SC

Penny Oleksiak                      Toronto                          Toronto Swim Club

Taylor Ruck                            Kelowna, B.C.                Scarborough Swim Club/HPC-ONT

Kayla Sanchez                       Scarborough, Ont.         Ajax Aquatic Club/HPC-ONT

Katerine Savard                     Pont-Rouge, Que.         CAMO

Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson*   Ottawa                          Go Kingfish/HPC-VAN

Kierra Smith*                          Kelowna, B.C.               Liquid Lightning

Rebecca Smith                      Red Deer, Alta.             Scarborough Swim Club/HPC-ONT

Mabel Zavaros                      Oakville, Ont.               Oakville Swim Club

Alexia Zevnik                         Montreal                      Pointe Claire Swim Club

Men

Jeremy Bagshaw*                 Victoria                        Island Swimming/HPC-VIC

Samuel Belanger                  Quebec, Que.              Universite Laval

Josiah Binnema*                   Prince George, B.C.     UBC Dolphins/HPC-VAN

Mack Darragh                       Mississauga, Ont.        Oakville Swim Club

Ruslan Gaziev                      Toronto                        Markham Swim Club

Tristan Cote                         Mississauga, Ont.        Etobicoke Swim Club

Yuri Kisil*                              Calgary                        UBC Dolphins/HPC-VAN

Carson Olafson*                  Chilliwack, B.C.            UBC Dolphins/HPC-VAN

Markus Thormeyer*             Delta, B.                       UBC Dolphins/HPC-VAN

Eli Wall                                Ottawa                          University of Toronto Swim Club

Coaches

Martyn Wilby                       Swimming Canada        Head Coach

Linda Kiefer                        Toronto

Bill O’Toole                          Toronto

Ben Titley                            Toronto

Tom Johnson                       Vancouver

Ryan Mallette                      Victoria

Vince Mikuska                    Swimming Canada

* Denotes Canadian Sport Institute Pacific Registered Athletes

“Swimming is one of the largest sport teams on Team Canada 2018,” said Claire Carver-Dias, Chef de Mission of the Canadian Team going to Gold Coast. “With their amazing success in the pool at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, we will look to these athletes to set a strong pace for all sports on the ground in Australia. Congratulations to all those who have been nominated today; I look forward to meeting you and supporting you as you strive for the podium at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.”

The entire Canadian Team will be officially announced by Commonwealth Games Canada in March 2018.

The 2018 Games will take place April 4-15, 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia, with 70 participating countries and over 4000 athletes taking part.