Aug. 2, 2008
QUEBEC CITY – Rising junior swimmer MacKenzie LeBlanc took the gold in the 200m Fly on Friday at the Tri Nations Cup meet in Quebec City. The Vernon, B.C., native topped the podium after checking in with a time of 2:00.13, as Romain Sassot of France touched second in 2:00.24 and Iain MacMillan of Great Britain was third in 2:00.64.
“My first 50 meters and last 25 were the best parts of my race,” said LeBlanc. “My third length though was a little weaker than I wanted. Still, I’m happy with my race. I wanted to come here and win at least one event. The 200 Fly is my best event, so I felt this was my best chance to do that.”
LeBlanc won one of Canada’s six gold medals to open the two-day meet which features the top prospects expected to challenge for spots on the 2012 Olympic teams for Canada, France and Great Britain.
The Tri Nations Cup is a dual meet between Canada, France and Great Britain. Hosted in Quebec City, this inaugural competition showcases Canada’s 2012 Olympic potential hopefuls. The meet coincides with Quebec City’s 400th anniversary. The site of this Tri Nations meet will rotate countries each year until 2012.
LeBlanc qualified for the Canadian team as a result of his third-place finish at the Canadian Olympic Trials in Montreal this past April. He will be one of the Notre Dame swimming and diving team’s tri-captains for the 2008-09 season.
The final day of the event (Aug. 2) can be tracked live at www.swimming.ca.
–ND–