Ruck adds Pan Pacific gold to medal collection

TOKYO — Taylor Ruck almost psyched herself out before the race even started.

Knowing she was swimming against five-time Olympic champ Katie Ledecky in the 200-metre freestyle on Thursday at the Pan Pacific Championships, the Canadian had to calm herself down as she readied to dive into the pool.

“It’s the name, I guess, because she is the fastest woman on the planet in a lot of races,” Ruck said of the American great. “My coach kind of saw that, so he told me to focus on my lane and my race.”

And there’s another factor, with almost everyone already thinking about the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and using this event as a trial run.

Ruck, 18, from Kelowna, won the 200 in one minute 54.44 seconds, just ahead of Japanese rival Rikako Ikee. Ledecky was third in 1:55.15. Ledecky won this event two years ago at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics — and the 400 and 800, too — though it is her weakest race. She was second in the 200 a year ago at the world championships in Budapest.

It wasn’t a lost day. Ledecky took the 800 in 8:09.13 — the fifth fastest on record — and will be the favourite in the 400 during the four-day event in Tokyo, the biggest meet of the year for most swimmers around the Pacific Rim.

“I knew it was going to be tough,” Ledecky said. “It’s a tough double. I’ve done it a number of times, but it’s always a difficult thing. I really put a lot of work into not having that happen again. But I still have two more years to go until the big show here in Tokyo.”

The Pan Pacs are being held in the Tatsumi International Swimming Center, which will be used for water polo at the next Olympics. A new aquatic centre is about 35 per cent complete, located just a short walk away.

Kelowna teen beats out Ledecky to win women’s 200 freestyle