Canadians Liendo, Kharun claim national titles at NCAA swimming championships
Canadian swimmers claimed two more national titles at the NCAA men’s swimming and diving championship in Indianapolis on Saturday.
Florida’s Josh Liendo, of Scarborough, Ont., won his third national title in as many days when he defended his 100 freestyle title in 40.20 seconds.
Liendo, 21, won the 50 freestyle on Thursday and the 100 butterfly on Friday at the championships.
Montreal-born swimmer Ilya Kharun pulled away in the final 50 yards to win the 200 butterfly title in one minute 38.26 seconds.
Kharun swims for Arizona State University under legendary coach Bob Bowman, who famously helped Michael Phelps to 23 Olympic gold medals.
The 19-year-old has lived in the U.S. for the majority of his life. His parents spent most of their lives performing with Cirque du Soleil.
WATCH | Who is Ilya Kharun?:
Rising star Ilya Kharun has been putting on a dominant display during the 2023 Canadian Swimming Trials. He was an unknown name to most when the competition began, but his performances have shown that he is a name to watch as the Olympics in Paris get closer.
Arizona State claims 1st championship
Leon Marchand set NCAA records in the 200 yard breaststroke and the 400 yards freestyle relay Saturday to help Arizona State win the program’s first NCAA men’s swimming and diving championship.
Marchard, a junior, won his third consecutive national title in the 200 reast in 1:46.35, breaking his own NCAA record. Pennsylvania’s Matthew Fallon was second — more than two seconds behind.
Marchand, Jack Dolan, Patrick Sammon and Jonny Kulow combined to win the 400 free relay for Arizona State in an NCAA record 2:43.40, just 0.09 seconds off the American record.
WATCH | Canada’s Joshua Liendo swims into the history book
Joshua Liendo has broken barriers as Canada’s first Black swimmer to win gold at a world championship. But Liendo tells The National’s Ian Hanomansing his sights are set on the top of the podium at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The Sun Devils won the team title with 523.5 points after a second-place finish last season. California, which had won each of the last two national championships, was second with 444.5 followed by Florida (378 points).
Cal’s Destin Lasco won his third consecutive 200 backstroke title with an American and NCAA record time of 1:35.37. The ASU duo of sophomores Hubert Kos (1:35.90) and Owen McDonald (1:36.63) finished second and third.
Zalan Sarkany won the first 1650 free title in program history for Arizona State in 14:30.57, ahead of Florida teammates Gio Linscheer (14:36.01) and Andrew Taylor (14:37.80).
Indiana junior Carson Tyler won his second consecutive diving title with 515.75 points and his teammate, sophomore Maxwell Weinrich (450.70) was second to help the Hoosiers finish fourth overall — two points behind the Gators.
