Candian Men Lower 4×100 Freestyle National Record, Hayden Opens With a 47.99 | SwimSwam

By Ben Dornan on SwimSwam

2020 TOKYO SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

• When: Pool swimming: Saturday, July 24 – Sunday, August 1, 2021
  • Open Water swimming: Wednesday, August 4 – Thursday, August 5, 2021
• Where: Olympic Aquatics Centre / Tokyo, Japan
• Heats: 7 PM / Semifinals & Finals: 10:30 AM (Local time)
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The Canadian men got within inches of the podium during the 4×100 freestyle relay at the Tokyo Games, hitting a 3:10.82 Canadian record for 4th overall. The team of Brent Hayden, Josh Liendo, Yuri Kisil, and Markus Thormeyer lowered the record from a 3:12.26 which the country swim at the 2008 Olympics.

Notably, Canadian vet Brent Hayden was a part of both the 2008 and 2021 swims and swam the opening leg at both meets. Hayden was a bit faster back in 2008, having hit a 47.56 in Beijing compared to the 47.99 he swam in Tokyo.

Splits Comparison

	Tokyo 2020	Beijing 2008
1	Brent Hayden – 47.99	Brent Hayden – 47.56
2	Josh Liendo – 47.51	Joel Greenshields – 47.77
3	Yuri Kisil – 47.15	Colin Russell – 48.49
4	Markus Thormeyer – 48.17	Rick Say – 48.44
	3:10.82	3:12.26

Canada’s 3:12.26 in 2008 was good enough to earn them a 6th place finish overall at the Games which was one of the nation’s few top 8 finishes in the event in history. Prior to that, Canada finished 7th in the event in 1984, 5th in 1972, and 7th in 1968. Considering that their best performance prior to Tokyo 2020 was 5th place in 1972, this marks Canada’s most successful men’s 4×100 freestyle relay performance at an Olympic Games in history.

Their most recent Olympic performance in the event came in 2016 when Kisil, Thormeyer, Santo Condorelli, and Evan van Moerkerke posted a 3:14.35 for 7th in Rio.

Both Thormeyer and Condorelli were faster here than what they swam in Rio as Kisil got down from a 47.76 split to a 47.15 and Thormeyer a 48.30 to a 48.17. Adding in Josh Liendo‘s blistering 47.51 and the aforementioned 47.99 opening leg by Hayden and you get Canada’s best 4×100 freestyle in history.

Hayden’s opening time of 47.99 is a solid time as it stands but is made even more impressive by the fact he is less than 2 years into a comeback to the sport following a 7-year hiatus. The Canadian sprinter won Olympic bronze in 2012 with a 47.80 and subsequently hung up his cap and goggles. Then in 2019 Hayden announced that he would be diving back into the water and quickly got back into the swing of things. Within months of his comeback Hayden qualified for Canadian Olympic Trials and after a COVID-19 induced year-long delay, finally got his chance at a 4th Olympic Games.

At Trials, Hayden managed to get himself onto the team with a 21.82 but actually opted out of the 100 freestyle, citing back pain. That means that despite his 47.99 swim from a flat start, Brent Hayden won’t be racing the event individually in Tokyo. We will, however, be treated to an individual freestyle from Hayden in which he holds the 15th seed at a 21.82.

Even without a relay medal from the men, Canada is having a stellar meet so far, having collected a silver in women’s 4×100 freestyle and gold via Maggie MacNeil’s 55.59 100 butterfly.

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