Blossoming superstars ready to take centre stage at Canadian swimming trials in Victoria

Just three short years ago when hundreds of Canadian swimmers arrived at the Saanich Commonwealth Place pool in Victoria for national trials there were signs that Summer McIntosh, Josh Liendo and a handful of others were on the cusp of something special.

Now, as Canadian swimming stars prepare for another trials in Victoria, it's clear that those sparks of brilliance in the pool in April 2022 have fully developed into global superstars who continue to take down records and chart a new course for swimming in this country.

Throughout those trials McIntosh started signalling to the world she was going to be a force for the foreseeable future, winning all four races she entered. She hasn't stopped since then and has become a generational talent – she is now a three-time Olympic champion, has countless short course and long course world titles and is the world record holder in the 400m individual medley.

Ilya Kharun wasn't even at those trials in Victoria three years ago – he won two bronze medals in Paris last summer — and Liendo is a podium threat at every national meet, having won silver in the 100m butterfly at the Games. The two have also been highly successful in the NCAA ranks, racking up wins and medals.

And they're all just getting started. McIntosh is only 18 years old, Kharun is 19 and Liendo is 21 years old. 

WATCH | CBC Sports' The Ready Room discusses storylines from national swim trials:

The Canadian women, who have been the backbone of the Swimming Canada program for three Olympic cycles, continue to thrive. And the men's program is gaining traction as well, with the likes of Finlay Knox and Blake Tierney also posting internationally competitive times. 

Many continue to call this the golden generation for Canadian swimming. This current group of Canada swimmers enter these trials beginning Saturday in Victoria, having won eight medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, followed by 15 medals at the short course world championships in Budapest this past December.

Bell Canadian Swimming Trials will stream live on CBCSports.ca and on CBC Gem beginning on Saturday, June 7 at 12:30 p.m. ET, continuing through Thursday, June 12. For a full broadcast schedule of swimming events this season, click here.

It's incredible to consider some of the results for McIntosh since she last dove into the water in Victoria – her three gold medals in Paris made her the first Canadian to win three gold medals at a single Games. 

At her short course worlds debut in December, McIntosh broke three world records, won three gold medals, one silver and one bronze. She was named World Aquatics female swimmer of the year and also won the Northern Star Award for top Canadian athlete of the year. She is, by many accounts, the most talented female swimmer on the planet and just recently announced that after the world championships this summer she'll be joining Bob Bowman, who famously coached Michael Phelps to 23 Olympic gold medals.

WATCH | Summer McIntosh's top moments from Canadian swim trials:

McIntosh will be busy in Victoria, having entered in seven events including the 800-metre freestyle, 400m freestyle, 400m individual medley, 200m individual medley, 200m freestyle, 200m backstroke and 200m butterfly.

By contrast, McIntosh competed in four events at the last Victoria trials – the most impressive time comparison from then to now comes in the form of the 400m IM, where McIntosh has trimmed off a full ten seconds from her 4:34.86 time posted in April 2022. She now holds the world record in the event in a time of 4:24.38 posted at the Olympic trials one year ago.